This is the moment a smart canine saves the life of a helpless sea creature. The brave dog—a springer spaniel called Leia—discovered the stranded young porpoise and began barking, directing his owner to it. The guy ultimately succeeded in rescuing the defenseless creature.

Rich Wilcock, a photography enthusiast, was strolling down the coastline at Criccieth, Wales, with his 2-year-old dog, Leia, when she began barking uncontrollably as if attempting to get her father’s attention. Rich was astonished to come upon a beached marine species while walking his dog.

“I was shooting the stunning countryside when Leia began to cause quite a fuss,” the guy said to Daily Post. “She continued approaching me, barking and prodding me; she must have picked up on the scent of the dolphin from a mile away. I first believed it was a young shark since it was only around one and a half feet long, but upon closer investigation, I saw the blowhole on top of his head and recognized it was a dolphin.”

Though Rich finally recognized the sea mammal like a dolphin, a Seawatch Foundation marine specialist said that it is more likely to be a newborn porpoise. Porpoises are marine animals that resemble dolphins in appearance but are more closely related to belugas and narwhals.

Anyway, the most important thing to remember is that Rich was able to save the tiny one’s life by guiding it back to deeper water. Then he and Leia lingered on that beach for at least another hour, wanting to make sure the young porpoise was still alive and well.

As Rick said, “there was no one around for miles, and so I did what I could as gently as I could.” Then I carefully raised him under the stomach and put him back under the waves, and he took off swimming into deeper water. ”

When they got home, he mentioned that his dog had gotten some free stuff because she deserves all of the credit for saving the day.She is “a really smart dog,” Rich said.

Watch this fascinating video here: