This is a service dog and all-round hero.

Earlier this month, she helped to rescue seven newborn kittens who had been left to die in a cardboard box in the woods.

Whitney Braley says that she knew something was up when Banner suddenly became distressed and started to pull on her dress outside their home in Georgia, USA.

‘She had been acting really weird all morning,’ says Whitney.

‘I couldn’t understand what was wrong with her. She wasn’t listening to me when I told her to come, which isn’t like her as she is always very well-behaved

‘I knew something had to be wrong. She was getting really distressed.’

Whitney let Banner lead her to the nearby woods and says that her dog dived straight in after she opened a cardboard box, and pulled out a tiny white kitten.

She was astonished to find six more ‘barely alive’ kittens inside.

After bringing them back to her house, Whitney says that Banner refused to leave their side – cleaning, cuddling, and napping with the cats as if she were their mother.

Whitney says: ‘Someone must have just put them into a cardboard box, closed the lid tight, and left them there to die. They probably thought that no one would ever discover them.

‘I don’t even know how Banner knew they were in there. The kittens were freezing and weren’t meowing or anything.

‘She just knew somehow. She is a true hero. If she didn’t find the kittens, they would have all died. I think they were pretty close to death. They only looked around a day old.

‘It makes me sick that anyone could do that to these tiny innocent animals. It’s so cruel and heartless.’

Whitney says that the dog is now like ‘their adopted mum’, who won’t leave their side.

‘She is a really maternal and loving dog. I’ve never met another dog like Banner. The kittens are really lucky. If she didn’t find them, there is no way they would have made it.

‘I’m so happy that now because of Banner, these kittens will go on to live their lives with loving families. It warms my heart.’