A picture of a Kangal, a breed of livestock guard dog, protecting a newborn lamb through the night in Turkey's eastern Erzincan province went viral Sunday, warming thousands of Turkish social media users' hearts.

The shepherd, Celal Gül of Başpınar village said, "I was drinking my tea in the morning when I heard my dog barking from a distance. I immediately went running in the direction of the sound and saw that my dog had been waiting with the lamb next to him through the night."

The lamb, who was born in the evening hours, had gone unnoticed in the midst of the herd. Vulnerable to predators, the newborn survived under the protection of the herd dog.

After the dog alerted Gül to the newborn, the shepherd found the lamb's mother to nurse it.

Gül remarked that sheepdogs are at least as helpful and loyal as any human.