On the first real scorcher of summer, Wally, a goofy 2-year-old golden retriever, was just doing what golden retrievers do best — playing in the water like it was his full-time job.
His humans, Lauren Lynde and her husband, had taken him out for a paddle on Hickory Hills Lake in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. They rowed their canoe to one of the little islands and let Wally loose for a swim.
“Once he jumps in, it’s hard to get him out,” Lynde laughed. “He’ll chase sticks or just swim in circles for no reason. And of course, he was wearing his little shark life vest.”
Wally was happily paddling through the water when something unusual caught Lynde’s eye. At first, she thought it was a big stick — or maybe an otter. But then the “stick” did something incredible.
It hopped on Wally’s back.
🐿️ An Unlikely Friendship Forms
It wasn’t a stick.
It wasn’t an otter.
It was a woodchuck — and apparently, he needed a ride.
“Me and my husband could not believe it,” Lynde said. “Wally just looked at the woodchuck, turned around, and started swimming back to shore. He didn’t care at all!”
The wild little creature had found a floating island — and Wally didn’t mind being the ferry.
“He looked over his shoulder a couple of times,” Lynde said, “but he just kept swimming.”
🌊 A Gentle Soul Everyone Trusts
No one knows exactly why the woodchuck was out in the lake. Maybe he was cooling off. Maybe he miscalculated. But what’s certain is that Wally didn’t hesitate to help.
“He’s just that kind of dog,” Lynde said. “He loves every animal he meets. And kids? He’ll give them a big kiss right on the face. He’s the sweetest dog ever.”
As they approached the shore, the woodchuck hopped off gently — but the moment didn’t end there.
🐾 Snout-to-Snout, A Goodbye
Just before they parted ways, the two new friends paused. They turned to each other, noses nearly touching — a quiet, wordless goodbye.
“They touched snouts,” Lynde recalled. “Then the woodchuck scampered up the shore, and Wally just dove right back into the lake like nothing had happened.”
Lynde stood there in awe.
“I was honestly dumbfounded,” she said. “Woodchucks are usually shy. But Wally… Wally just exudes this goodness. Maybe animals can feel that too.”
In a world full of headlines that make your heart sink, sometimes you find a little story like this one — of a dog, a woodchuck, and a shared moment of unexpected kindness — and you remember that there’s still a whole lot of gentle magic out there.
