A heroic pet detective has shared footage online of the dramatic moment she came to the rescue of a dog who miraculously survived for eight hours in a Florida canal.
Mario the Pomeranian's owner enlisted the help of pet detective Jamie Katz after her beloved pet pooch fell into a canal behind his home in Fort Lauderdale.
By the time Katz had been recruited to help with the search, Mario's owner had seemingly consigned herself to the fact they would be recovering her dog's body rather than rescuing him.
Speaking on the video shared to TikTok, the dog's owner acknowledged they were "looking for a body too," as they paddled through the canal in a canoe. The clip can be viewed here.
Even Katz appeared to understand that could be the outcome, agreeing that the pet owner "needs to have an answer" as to what happened to her dog. But as the pair approached a boat moored nearby, something incredible happened. They heard the whine of a dog calling for help.
"What's that? What's that? Was that you?" Katz asked on the video, immediately picking up on the faint noise of the stricken canine. Calling out to the dog again, the pooch made another audible plea for assistance, with Katz immediately springing into action.
@jamiekatzpetdetective Finding Mario eight hours after he fell into a canal behind his home in Fort Lauderale…#pijamiekatz #petdetective #founddog #lostdog #pomeranian #gopro @gopro
♬ original sound - JamieKatzPetDetective
Jumping out of the canoe, she waded over to where she suspected the sound had originated from, in an area around the back of the moored boat. "Hi! Hi! Come here!" Katz can be heard to say on the video while Mario's disbelieving owner remarks "no way!" in the background.
After a few tense seconds the pet detective emerged with the dog, who appeared wet and surprised, but otherwise unharmed.
Bringing the canine over to the canoe, Katz's video captured the heartwarming moment Mario was reunited with his emotional owner who had feared she would never see him alive again. "Oh my God, Mario!" she is heard to say as the dog is returned to her.
She was quick to pay tribute to the efforts of Katz, noting: "You heard him! I've been down here twice!" According to the eagle-eyed pet detective, Mario had found himself a little ledge "inside the boat" behind the propeller where he was waiting it out in the hope of being rescued.
"I never would have heard that," Mario's tearful owner states again, before pointing towards Katz and telling her "that's why you're here."
According to Katz, Mario's family had spent much of the previous eight hours searching the canal, which runs for half a mile from north to south.
She said that part of the reason it took so long to find the dog was that he fell in the canal at one end and managed to swim all the way to the other before finding a spot to rest.
Fans commenting on the video were quick to praise Katz for her efforts. Ky_9839 said: "I literally love you!!! The way you jump in the water with zero hesitation seriously the world needs more of you." KawiWacky407 was similarly in awe of the way the pet detective showed "zero hesitation" about going into the water to save the stricken pooch.
Pussslayer3000 commented: "thanks for what you do" while magnoliahillhouse said: "OMG what a rescue good job!" User_Fum wrote: "I LOVE what you do! My son was Ace Ventura for Halloween. He's going to be so excited when I show him the real deal."
Dog Life Jackets
Stacy Becker399, meanwhile, urged the dog's owner to take precautions to avoid a repeat writing:. "Please invest in dog life jackets if there's no fence."
According to the U.K.-based Canal and River Trust, while purchasing a life jacket for your dog is essential, it's also important to practice a few "scoop drills" with your canine to ensure they are comfortable wearing the jacket and won't suffer too much of a surprise in the event they have to be lifted out of the water.
"Lift your dog a few inches off the ground using the life jacket handle, replace dog on ground and then reward your dog. Do this a few times," they said. "This should help prevent any nasty shock or bad reaction if your dog falls into the water and needs to be scooped out of the canal."
Newsweek has contacted Katz for comment.
