Kabang, a dog that lost half of its face after jumping in front of a motorcycle just to save two girls received a warm welcome from the people in Zamboanga, a province in the southern Philippines.

The dog was brought back after months of treatment at the University of California veterinary hospital, which was paid for with the $27,000 donations raised both in the Philippines and abroad. The dog and his owner rode at the back of a pickup truck with yellow balloons to the municipal hall where the mayor presented the title “Pride of Zamboanga” on the dog.

“(Without Kabang,) maybe I will not be alive today,” says the girl who was saved by the dog.