Some animals can never be understood.

As the most intelligent lifeforms on Earth, mankind has always thought that sentience is an exclusive trait.

Humans have set themselves apart from other species through self-awareness and emotions.

However, as we consider other animals to be solely slaves to instinct, other species tend to break the mold. At the forefront of this idea?

Dolphins.

In Marco Island, Florida, a woman was desperately looking for her Doberman.

Cindy Burnett left her gate open one night and was faced with a terrifying situation the morning after. Her 11-year-old Doberman named Turbo was nowhere to be found.

With their beloved dog missing, Burnett and her sons scoured the neighborhood looking for Turbo.

“I searched and searched and called his name. I drove through this street at least five or six times,” she said to NBC.

Half a mile from their house, Turbo was shivering.

He was found at the banks of a canal where they believe Turbo has been rescued. A neighbor saw Turbo in the water and quickly went in to save him.

A first, Burnett thought that it was the neighbor who saved Turbo. But their neighbor only deflected the gratitude towards an unsuspecting pod of rescuers.

Dolphins to the rescue

They said that they would never have found Turbo if not for the dolphins. The neighbor explained that they heard sounds of persistent splashing in the canal.

When they looked for the source of the watery commotion, they saw Turbo in the water with nearby dolphins splashing about.

They suspected that the dolphins were trying to get their attention since Turbo was in obvious distress.

If not for them Burnett thinks that it would take more time to find Turbo, and by that time, he would’ve been gone.

Dolphins are suspected to be empathetic animals.

But along with this feeling of communal understanding, the species is also considered remarkably intelligent.

Experts say that dolphins recognize themselves in the mirror, which gives them a sense of self-awareness.

This level of intelligence fuels theories that these animals are capable of feeling emotions.

These emotions help them have a sense of altruism, grief, concern, and compassion.

At one point, a pod of dolphins even saved a family from a great white shark.

The family thought that the dolphins were being playful when they were circling around them. When they saw the shark, they realized that this pod was protecting them.

It’s not surprising this pod helped Turbo.

The whole episode could be dismissed as a pitch for a movie, but the story is as real as it gets.

Turbo found himself in grave danger that day, but thanks to a group of new friends, he got to live the rest of his life with his family.

And while others believe that all the dolphins did was splash about, people on the scene knew that it was not mindless reactions.

For them, the dolphins knew what was happening and they did what they had to do to save Turbo.

Learn more about how these dolphins help Turbo in the video below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: YouTube – WPTV News – FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, The Week, KHQ, Express UK, The Guardian

Featured image credit: Flickr/happyskrappy