In this case, it was a cat who was man’s best friend after a boy’s pet feline saved him when a dog bit his leg on Tuesday in California in an incident that was caught on surveillance video.

The video, which you can view above, has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube as of Thursday afternoon. It shows a 4-year-old boy named Jeremy Triantafilo riding his bicycle in a driveway when a neighbor’s 8-month-old dog runs toward him and bites him from behind in the leg. That’s when Jeremy’s cat, Tara, comes to his rescue in pursuit of the dog, who runs away. Jeremy is then seen walking away from the driveway with the cat that saved him.

“Tara is my hero,” Jeremy, who has mild autism, told local ABC affiliate KERO. The Bakersfield, California, boy needed to get stitches but wasn't seriously injured.

Jeremy’s mother, Erica Triantafilo, said she wasn’t aware that her son was bit by the dog as it happened. She was watering a tree and heard him screaming.

"I didn't really even realize what had happened until after when my husband showed me the surveillance video," she said.

The boy's father, Roger Triantafilo, said he was surprised at how Tara came to the rescue. The cat has been with the family since 2008.

“I’ve never seen a cat do that,” he said. “Especially ours. It just shows how much she really has a family-oriented mindset.”

The dog named Scrappy escaped when the neighbors were pulling out of their gated driveway. The neighbors got out of the car and called 911.

Animal control officials picked up the Labrador/chow mix on Tuesday. The dog is scheduled to be euthanized, TMZ reported on Wednesday.

California YouTube