An animal control officer risked her life to save a puppy in distress in the waters off of Ocean Beach, San Diego on Friday.

The frightened nine-month-old Poodle named Aurora, had run away when officer Melissa Prettyman found her at the beach. She tried to corral Aurora, but the small dog made a dash down the beach's jetty and then jumped into the ocean. Aurora was being swept out to sea with the ocean's strong current and undertow.

That's when Melissa bravely followed after her. She took off her important gear and jumped in to the water, attempting to leash Aurora while in the water. She managed to get a hold of the pup and headed back to shore. In return for saving her from drowning, Aurora gave Melissa a little tail wag as a "thank you".

This incident was only part of an adventure Aurora had been on. In fact, Aurora had been missing for three days, after she escaped out of the back yard of her home. Happily, she was reunited with her family on Friday.

• Ocean Beach
• rescue
• Poodle
• animal control officer