Wally the golden retriever did exactly what his breed is supposed to do during a recent swim in a Massachusetts lake: retrieving a struggling critter and giving it a ride to shore on his back — an interaction all caught on video by Wally’s owner.

Lauren Russell was at Hickory Hills Lake in Lunenburg with Wally in May when he came across a woodchuck in the water, she told WCVB-TV.

“He was about 100 meters out and a woodchuck, just crawled right up on his back, and he swam back to shore with him,” Russell said.

“We were flabbergasted. It was unbelievable. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing,” Russell said.

When they got close to shore, the dog and rodent gave each other a “kiss” before parting ways.

“They like touched snouts and then he scampered away,” Russell said.