Having to evacuate your home would be a terrifying experience, made all the worse if you had to leave precious belongings behind, or even worse, a beloved pet.
As Hurricane Florence approached land, thousands were forced to evacuate their homes in North Carolina, USA, but a tiny Maltese by the name of Soshe did not make it out before powerful flood waters hit the town of Burgaw.
When the Humane Society of Missouri (HSM) made the sizeable journey to the area to help save animals that had been left behind, the owner of Soshe had contacted Pender County Animal Control to let them know the dog was not evacuated. The message was passed on to HSM, who were able to save numerous cats, dogs and even horses from the area.
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However, each day they attempted to save Soshe, they were unable to locate the house because the flood water levels were so high.
One of the HSM's disaster rescue team, Chad Gard, told CBS: "The entire neighbourhood was underwater, so only the roofs were showing.
"We couldn't go off the description [of the house] because we could only see the roof."
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After around a week, the water level had dropped sufficiently to locate the house and the rescue team made one last attempt to find Soshe. As luck would have it, their boat broke down on the way to the house, but unperturbed they paddled the rest of the way to the so far elusive house.
The water was still around seven feet deep, and considering the dog had not been seen for a week, they didn't hold out much hope of saving Soshe. Yet, as they got nearer the home, hope was restored.
Gard said: "We saw part of the [house] number ... And as we got close to the house, we could hear the dog barking."
Gard and his colleague, Jessica Crampton, then proceeded to kick and prise open the locked front door enough so that they could squeeze inside and retrieve the dog, which they found floating on a couch in the living room.
Unsurprisingly, Soshe was extremely shaken and hungry, and in the video the pooch can be seen wolfing down some much needed food shortly after being rescued. The dog also offers some light relief during the rescue itself, paddling frantically in a way that is undeniably both adorable and hilarious.
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Upon hearing that Soshe had been saved, the dog's owner broke down in tears - as you might.
Reflecting on the successful but tasking mission, Gard said: "We feel very privileged we're given the opportunity to help out, whether it be our state or another state.
"That was a good day. We had boat problems and anything that could've went wrong did. And in the end, it was a fantastic day. We all felt really good."
Featured Image Credit: Humane Society of Missouri