A white boxer dog had a one-in-a-million encounter, but lost his ball in the process. The dog got quite a surprise when he went into the sea to get his ball back. The dog was a few feet from shore on the coast of Scotland when a curious baby seal popped up to say 'hello'.

Lynne Morris was walking along the beach with her husband in Fife, Scotland last April, when she watched as the dog's owner played fetch with the boxer. Said Morris, "She threw the ball into the water and without hesitation the dog ran in. The ball landed near a seal and the dog was fascinated by the creature. Instead of reaching for his ball he began circling the seal. They were incredibly docile and it was wonderful to watch."

"I was shocked by how calm the dog was, he was quite big and if I'd seen him walking along the road I would've crossed to the other side of the street," said Morris. The dog was equally curious of the seal and went in for a sniff. That's when the seal pup slapped him on the nose with a flipper.

"The dog went right up to the pup for a sniff and he cheekily slapped him on the face with its flipper. He was stunned and didn't fancy going near his ball so just headed back to his owner," said Lynne of what the dog did after the slap.

Lynne suspects that perhaps the seal was one recently released back into the wild by an animal sanctuary nearby.

• seal
• Boxer
• pup
• sea
• Scotland
• interspecies
• Fife