Whether he's your biological father, or the paternal figure in your life who took the job without question, there is a special spot in your heart reserved for the first man you loved and admired... your dad.

Any man can be a father, but it takes a special kind of man to be a "dad." Here are the top 10 examples of such men who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for their children.

The dad who wore a dress to show support for his son


When German Nils Pickert found out his five-year-old son liked wearing dresses, he decided to show his support by dressing the same while accompanying him to pre-school. Pickert later explained, “After a lot of contemplation, I had only one option left: To broaden my shoulders for my little buddy and dress in a skirt myself."

The dad who handmade his daughter a prom dress


Mariah Herron always dreamed of wearing a "snow white camouflage" dress to prom. She jokingly questioned her dad, David Herron, if he could make it; he jokingly replied he would. Turns out that David had learned a few things about sewing while he served in the Air Force, and spent the next six weeks making her dream dress come true. He even made her date a matching camouflage tie!

The dad who carried his son to school 10 miles every day


Yu Xukang is a 40-year-old, single father of a 12-year-old son who suffers from several physical disabilities. Every morning at 5:00 am, Yu makes lunch for his son and carries him in a basket back and fro to the nearest school that will accept his son (averaging at around 20 miles a day!) Ssince the story broke, the government has offered to rent Yu a room closer to the school.

The superhero dad who who saved his own kid in a flash


Talk about fast reflexes. This plastic car lost control while going down a steep hill, and would have pummeled right into the kid waiting below had his dad's legs didn't go into super speed mode.

The dad who saved his son from the jaws of death


James Hardegree is the heroic father who managed to save his two-year-old from being mauled by two vicious dogs who wandered into the family's back yard.

When he saw his son's head in the jaws of one of the dogs, Hardegree wasted no time in pulling him free. His son received multiple lacerations but was spared from serious injury.

The dad who stopped his daughter from being kidnapped


Back in March 2014, police was receiving reports about a man walking around a local apartment complex grabbing young girls. When the suspect grabbed an 11-year-old girl and took off running, her dad chased them both, apprehended the suspect and detained him until police arrived.

The dads who brought their boys back home after their fugitive mother kidnapped them


Maria Pfeifer was the mother of two young boys to two different fathers – Larry Hummel and Bob Pfeifer. One day she decided to take off with her boys and head for Europe, but she never returned. The two fathers decided to work together to track her down via social media for over a year.

After thousands of hours of work, they received a tip that Maria was working as a prostitue while living on the run in four different countries before hiding out in France. With the help of the U.S. Embassy and an FBI agent named Eugene Casey, the dads managed to reunite with their sons.

The dad who used his body as a shield against his son caught in a crossfire of bullets


David Adams was a freelance auto mechanic doing his best to make ends meet for his four children and longtime girlfriend, Albena Mensai.  One evening in 2010, Joseph was outside on the porch when several men turned up in his neighbourhood to dispute about a stolen car. One of the men emerged from his house with an AK-47 and unleashed a hail of bullets. David raced to the porch and used his body as a shield to protect his mentally handicapped son. He was hit by two bullets and died.

The dad who pushed his son to victory


Back in 1977, Rick Hoyt told his father Dick that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Rick was a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, but that wasn't going to stop him from wanting to help his friend. Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair in the run and finished all 5 miles. Despite coming in next to last, Rick was elated and told his father, “Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped.”

The dad who gave his son the ultimate gift – his kidney


when Leonard Burke was diagnosed with hypertension and kidney failure in 2008, he received a transplant from his wife Rhonda. The organ worked for a few years before failing Burke in 2013. When his father, Ronald Burke, heard about Leonard's troubles, he selflessly donated his kidney to his son, saving his life