As any parent can attest - you'd do anything to protect your child. As it turns out a dog feels the same about his family.
Meet Noah, the hero German Shepherd who took a bullet to save his family.
It happened as the Martin family pulled into a strip mall outside Atlanta. The dad went into a store to buy a new dog collar for Noah. Out of nowhere, a road rage incident erupted in the parking lot. Gunfire hit the SUV.
Diondra Martin told INSIDE EDITION, "Glass was flying over my head, over their head."
A bullet hole pierced the seat just inches from where Diondra's son was sitting.
"When I took them out of the car and realized where the bullets were, I was like, 'Oh my gosh. They were that close!' " exclaimed Diondra.
A 911 caller said, "Somebody got shot. I heard around 8 gunshots outside in the parking lot."
Then, a remarkable thing happened. In the hail of bullets the dog raced to the front seat.
Diondra explained, "His body was pushing me to stay this way."
Diondra believes Noah was coming to sheild her and that's when a bullet hit him in the neck.
"The bullet was coming towards me and it hit him in the neck," she said.
That's right! Noah took a bullet for the family.
"It was so heart breaking. I saw the hurt in his eyes," she recalled.
You won't believe what happened next.
The gravely injured Noah took after the gunman, as seen on surveillance video.
Dad, Kadon Martin said, "I see my wife over there screaming, and she was bloodied up."
Kadon ran after his wounded dog and showed us how he found Noah lying on the sidewalk. Kadon explained, "I grabbed his head and I opened his mouth and tried to blow in his mouth."
But it was too late. Noah died from the gunshot wound.
The loss is too much to bear, and Kadon tearfully stopped and had to leave the room.
Diondra said, "It's very hard on him. He's never cried like that before."
But the story doesn't end there.
Dog breeder Elizabeth Wilkerson heard the story of brave Noah on the news. She drove 750 miles from her home in Michigan to deliver a very special present to the Martins.
Wilkerson told INSIDE EDITION, "The whole situation just broke my heart."
Meet their new dog, Kris! We were there for the big moment!
The children were overwhelmed with joy. But none more than dad, who broke down in tears, telling Wilkerson, "Thank you so much. Thank you so much."
A happy ending to a tragic tale.
But the family will always have a special place in the hearts for Noah, who took a bullet for them.
"He saved the kids. He saved my lfie," said Diondra.
"He was a superhero," said Kadon.
