The latest viral video to get shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms has combined some of the internet’s favorite themes into one place: heroism, cats, and an unexpected fight.

The video comes from home surveillance at the Triantafilo home in Bakersfield, California. Four-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo can be seen riding his bike on his family’s driveway. Unprovoked by Jeremy, the neighborhood dog, a labrador/chow mix that is easily as large as the boy, runs around the car, bites down on the boy’s leg, and attempts to drag him away down the driveway.

It’s completely unexpected, but luckily, Tara the family cat has been keeping an eye out. In the video, Tara runs down the driveway and throws herself into the much larger dog. Not only does he let go of Jeremy, but he actually runs away in terror of this hero cat. Jeremy’s mother, Erica, is close behind — when this happened she was near the home, watering a tree. “I’d never seen a dog just shake a child like that so violently,” Erica said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “I just remember hearing him and the next thing I know, I see my cat flying out of nowhere.”

The video was posted last Wednesday, and by the end of the day was nearing 5 million views worldwide. Since then it has blossomed to over 20 million views, and has been featured on several news networks. Jeremy is now fine after receiving several stitches for the dog bite. “Tara is my hero,” Jeremy has said.

Although the family posted this video to Youtube with no inkling that it would go viral, it does tell an incredible story about the love between a cat and her family. Companies trying to break through the surrounding advertising noise should take note of the reaction people tend to have when it comes to a story that pulls at the heartstrings.

“It’s always important to watch what’s popular with communities like YouTube,” says Derek of Quez Media. “You never know what trend will take off next, but if you can react quickly, you can take advantage of the situation and reap the rewards as a social marketer.”

Tara has been with the family five years, after following Jeremy’s parents home one day. They decided to keep her, even though Erica is allergic to cats. The dog’s owner ended up turning it over to the city’s animal control, and it is likely the dog will be euthanized.