Man who climbed 13th floor balcony to rescue puppy is hailed a hero – but his mum is furious

An animal-lover in Colombia has been hailed a hero by thousands on social media after he risked his life to rescue a puppy stuck on a 13th-floor balcony.

Brave Diego Andrés Dávila Jimenez realised his neighbour's dog Luna had become distressed after being trapped outside of his Bogota apartment and was attempting to climb down the building, so he climbed out of his apartment and hung off the side of the building to reach the dog.

Jimenez initially attempted to reach Luna using props that would provide something safe for the dog to land on, but seeing that the animal was likely to plummet to its death, Jimenez hoisted himself out of his balcony, balancing on the ledge, and climbed up to the apartment above him.

His daring escapade was filmed by another neighbour and posted on social media, where more than 30,000 people praised his heroics, one cheekily asking if the heroic rescuer was single.

Camilo Ernesto Castro, who posted the video on the Facebook page For the Love of Animals, wrote: "Awesome rescue of a dog that had almost his whole body out of the balcony on the verge of falling into the void.

"A neighbour (an angel on earth) named Diego Andrés Dávila Jimenez is the one who takes the decision to risk his own life and save the little dog."

Praising his decision, one follower wrote on Facebook: "On the one hand I think how stupid, what if he'd made a mistake, and on the other I think 'what a hero'. It's lucky he didn't fall because we need people like him alive."

The dog owner, who was out of the apartment and did not realise Luna had been left on the balcony thanked Jimenez, according to Latin Correspondent, but he said his mother was furious he had risked his life.