This is the heartwarming moment a heroic dog jumped into a lake, paddled about 200ft offshore, and saved a fawn from drowning. But the caring dog did not stop here. He kept caring for the tiny creature, even after he had taken her out of water.

This month, Ralph Dorn of Virginia went on a stroll with his 6-year-old Goldendoodle, Harley, to burn off some extra energy. The fact that there is a lake close by means that Ralph and his canine partner often visit since it is a fantastic place for the lively got to express his adventurous energy.

Despite the fact that Harley enjoys exploring the areas around the lake, he never gets too far away from his master. The only difference this time is that the dog vanished without a trace and was nowhere to be found. Ralph, on the other hand, only saw his dog when he gazed at the surface of the lake. And he wasn’t the only one. Within minutes, the ex-marine realized that his dog was transporting another animal.

A little fawn became stranded in the middle of the lake, unable to swim to the shore. While there is no explanation as to how the young deer ended up there in the first place, one thing is certain: when Harley saw the baby deer suffering, he just leaped in and rescued it. Although he was successful in bringing the helpless animal to shore, even after he did so, the kind dog stayed by its side to care for it.

“Harley was adamant about not leaving the fawn,” Ralph said to People. His interactions with it were limited to licking it and showing concern. We could see immediately that he had a nice heart, even when he was a little puppy. He’s been like this with children and animals since he was a youngster. He adores each and every one of them.”

Even though Ralph has no clue how the newborn deer wound up in the middle of the lake, he is really pleased that his dog was able to rescue the day in such a dramatic fashion! Harley’s grateful owner later chose to post Harley’s heroic deed on Facebook, and the post quickly went viral, with thousands of people thanking the good-hearted dog in the process.

While Ralph was unable to ascertain how the fawn got into the woods, he wrote in a now-viral article that Harley “clearly didn’t question why he immediately leaped into action.” Eventually, the smaller one stopped bleating and started wiggling his tail. They sniffed each other’s noses and Harley walked quietly back to the house with me.

Thanks for reading…