CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Firefighters in Florida never know who (or what) they will be called to rescue on a given day during their shift.
Crews in Cape Coral responded to a call of a dog in a canal in Britannia Lake on Monday morning, according to a post on the agency's Facebook page.
When firefighters responded, they said the animal swam from shore to shore as they tried to rescue it.
Crews said a local woman, Denae Judd, using her kayak, offered to help monitor the animal's location. She pointed out to the crews that it had crawled under a dock.
Firefighters entered the water and rescued — what turned out to be — an exhausted coyote pup from the lake.
The agency said the tired animal wasn't fit to be released back into the wild, so they took it to a local veterinary care center.
The center was working to coordinate moving it to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Inc., for rehabilitation.
The woman on her kayak who helped firefighters in this "unique situation" was presented with a Community Recognition Coin for her generous efforts.
The fire department later learned that another neighbor, named Brian, was the one who originally saw the coyote fall into the lake.
"He even jumped in after to try to get it! His efforts caught the attention of other neighbors who called 9-1-1 and Denae," the agency said on Facebook.
They also presented Brian with a coin as well for his service.
