BALTIMORE (WJZ)–Beyond the call of duty: A Baltimore police officer with the Marine Unit dives into frigid waters in the Inner Harbor to save a dog in distress.

Suzanne Collins has more on the rescue.

Penny, a chow lab mix, is lucky to be alive. Police say they had to don wet suits to keep her from drowning.

Penny was being checked out of the vet’s office Thursday after running away Wednesday and nearly drowning in the Inner Harbor.

“My roommate opened our front door to sign for a package and Penny ran out of the house,” said Rachel Naumann, dog owner.

Now Penny and her owner are able to say thank you to the men in blue who saved the dog’s life.

It was 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday when the call came into 911 that there was a dog in distress in the water near Harborview on Key Highway. At that time, the temperature was just 38 degrees.

“He was struggling. At that point, he was exhausted. You could see he was going underneath the water. He was trying to hang on to some reed board that was underneath the structures over there, trying to stay afloat,” said Americus Rambeau, Marine Unit.

Rambeau is the one who put on the wet suit to help Penny in the water.

“He was just happy that somebody was there to cling on to,” Rambeau said.

Naumann said she, her parents and her friends searched all night for Penny and even Thursday morning. Then there was great relief when she learned that the lab mix was at the city shelter.

“I was a nervous wreck the past few hours, trying to figure out where she was,” Naumann said. “I thought I totally lost her.”

The Marine Unit admits it does go out on animal calls when needed.

“It was the right thing to do,” said Sgt. Michael Kain, Marine Unit. “It’d been wrong for anybody to just turn their back and just walk away.”

Rambeau only owns cats, but he says he loves all animals and was very happy to see Penny again on Thursday in much better shape.

Penny’s owner is shocked she survived the ordeal. She says the dog has never been swimming and hates taking a bath.