Dog carries stranded ‘little stranger’ while swimming back to shore [Video]

• Lauren Lynde and her husband took Wally, their two-year-old Golden Retriever, to a lake to swim.
• Lauren was shocked when a woodchuck suddenly hopped on Wally’s back and Wally didn’t mind bringing him back to shore.
• The fur mom was so proud of her pup who “just exudes goodness” all the time, which was probably sensed by the shy woodchuck.

Swimming makes summer more bearable not only for humans but also for dogs.

On the first day of summer, Lauren Lynde and her husband took their two-year-old Golden Retriever, Wally, to one of the islands in Hickory Hills Lake in Lunenburg, Massachusetts.

The family rowed their canoe, and Wally enjoyed his relaxation time just swimming around the lake.

“Usually, we’ll throw him sticks or his ball to chase, but he’ll also just swim around in circles by himself, which is really funny,” Lauren told The Dodo. “And he’s got a little shark life vest that he wears.”

Wally was paddling around, Lauren noticed something bobbling close to Wally, which she initially thought was a stick — until it suddenly hopped on Wally’s back. Lauren realized it was a woodchuck!

“Me and my husband could not believe it,” the fur mom said, who had no idea why the woodchuck ended up in the water.

“We were watching this transpire, and Wally just looked at the woodchuck, started swimming back to shore and the woodchuck hopped on his back. Wally did not care at all. He just looked over his shoulder a couple of times and kept swimming,” she added.

Wally’s behavior didn’t surprise Lauren at all. She knows that her pup loves making new friends as much as he loves swimming.

 “He loves every animal he encounters,” she said. “He especially loves little kids and will give them a kiss right on the face when he sees them. He’s the sweetest dog ever and gets along with everybody.”

Wally was able to bring the stranded animal back to shore, and the woodchuck looked so grateful for the lift.

“He hopped off Wally’s back a little before they got to shore, and they looked at each other and touched their snouts together, kind of like a goodbye,” Lauren said. “The woodchuck ran up on shore, they gave one last little look at each other and he scurried away while Wally went right back to swimming.”

Although woodchucks are usually shy, Lauren is certain that he knew he could trust the pup.

“I think Wally just exudes goodness and maybe everyone can sense it,” she said, “even the animals.”

Source: The Dodo