An astonished fisherman filmed the heart-warming moment when a sheepdog saves a drowning lamb from a river and brings it safely to the shore.

Hero Sheepdog Saves Drowning Lamb From River pic.twitter.com/xX7f3UMZlb

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The touching rescue was filmed by an angler named only as Mr Huang who was fishing on the Hulan River, near Harbin, northeast China.

Phone footage – shared later on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – shows a terrified lamb that had apparently strayed towards the river and fallen in.

As the fast-moving currents swept it away, the young sheep struggled desperately to keep its head above water.

Then – out of nowhere – a German shepherd suddenly leapt to the rescue.

Video footage of the life-or-death struggle shows the dog gently nudging the lamb back in the direction of the river bank when currents threaten to sweep it away.

And as the lamb bleats for help, the dog gently takes it by the neck and drags it towards dry land.

At times the loyal sheepdog seems to be supporting the desperately tired lamb by swimming underneath it and buoying it up with its back.

Amazingly, the dog managed to drag the exhausted lamb all the way to the river bank.

Mr Huang, who rushed over as soon as he heard the lamb’s cries for help, was touched to see the heart-stirring rescue.

He went searching for the owner and soon found the dog and the lamb belonged to the same person.

The three were later happily reunited, according to local media.

And it seems many netizens were moved by the paw-some rescue, with many users praising the dog’s incredible bravery and loyalty.

One Douyin user titled ‘cuttlefish’ said in a comment: “Dogs are always the most loyal companions.”

Another user titled ‘cute’ wrote: “This dog is so caring, its owner must give it extra meals when they get home.”

And user ‘release ran’ said: “Dogs are the most sincere friends of human beings, give dogs a thumbs up.”