08/23/2026
Rescuers couldn’t believe their eyes when a dog swam toward them, with an entire possum family clinging to his back.
During a flood rescue, crews were moving through the rising water, checking homes and helping families get to safety. Most people had already been evacuated, but rescuers were still watching for pets and animals left behind.
That’s when they saw a dog paddling toward the boat.
At first, they thought he was alone. Then they looked closer. He had a momma possum gently held in his mouth, while several more tiny possums clung to his back, soaked and shaking as he fought through the water.
Rescuers pulled him into the boat first, then carefully lifted each possum off him one by one. Nobody knows how the dog found them or why he decided to help, but one thing was clear. He had been swimming with them for a long time.
Rescuers went out looking for survivors, and found a dog who had become a lifeboat for a family smaller than his own.
