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Vancouver resident Joe Markovitch saw something that amazed him on Thursday afternoon.

He had taken his dog Bagels to Kits beach for a swim. “He loves swimming and he loves catching the stick, the ball,” said Markovitch.

The 12-year-old Border Collie picked up a stick, which was about five feet long, and went into the water with it. That was not unusual, but this time the stick was just a little too big.

“Because he grabbed it at one end, the current wouldn’t allow him to turn,” said Markovitch, “so he just kept swimming out to sea.”

That is when Markovitch started to get nervous because Bagels wouldn’t let go of the stick and kept swimming – the current pulling him farther and farther out.

Markovitch then jumped into the water to swim after his dog, and he felt something bump his shoulder.

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“There’s a Black Lab passing me on his way to Bagels,” he said.

The Lab swam out to Bagels, grabbed the other end of the stick, turned Bagels around and helped him swim to shore.

“They literally walked out of the water with the stick in their mouths,” said Markovitch.

A lot of people on the beach were watching, but unfortunately no one caught the incident on video.

“I haven’t seen anything like it before,” said Markovitch. “This other dog maybe even saved Bagels’ life.”

Bagels with his friend and the giant stick he was carrying.