Not long ago, many concerned individuals reached out to Cleethorpe Wildlife Rescue after spotting a helpless animal lying face down in a muddy ditch.

Realizing the urgency, the organization swiftly dispatched a team of water rescuers to the scene.

After 20 minutes of travel, they arrived. And when you’re stuck in mud for 20 minutes, every second counts. Nonetheless, the team soon located the “animal.” In this case, it turned out to be a dog-like statue seemingly trapped in the water-filled and mossy ditch.

But that’s when the whole story took a turn. Upon closer inspection, the experienced rescuers realized the “dog” didn’t need any help at all. In fact, it wasn’t even a real dog.

The rescue organization explained it all on Facebook:

“It was a statue!” the rescue wrote in a Facebook post about the event. “A statue that had already been rescued by an onsite member of staff!”

What a relief! Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue had taken the situation seriously, investing time and effort, but they were still glad that concerned citizens had reached out.

“It’s always a relief when there isn’t an injured animal to tend to,” a representative told The Dodo.

After all, it was out of care they had done so, and it’s always better to raise an alarm than to simply pass by. In this instance, it was just a fake dog, but next time, it could be serious.

”The little dog is now safe and sound outside our office, if anyone wants to claim the statue then please pop into reception and we will happily re-unite!  Though unfortunately it did get a little damaged in the process!,” Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue writes on Facebook.