Worcester, Massachusetts – Relaxed pool time took an unexpected turn for a Massachusetts family when they spotted a tiny little animal paw poking out from their pool's filter.
It was sweltering as Glenn Despres watched his kids splash around in the pool.
Amid the relaxation, as if out of nowhere, his son ran up and told him he had spotted an animal in the water.
"He came running over and said: 'Dad, there's a rat!'" the Massachusetts man told the Dodo.
Glenn was used to fishing little moles out of the family pool, so he assumed this emergency involved a similar mammal.
But one look into the pool filter proved him wrong: A tiny paw was poking out.
"I ran over and saw it was actually a rat – or maybe a mouse! That's still up for debate," the father of two said.
Glenn didn't worry about correctly identifying the little animal; instead, he launched a rescue effort.
Pool day ends with rescue operation
Luckily, Glenn was able to fish the soaking-wet rodent out of the pool on the second attempt. During his first attempt, the critter fell into the pool.
"The rat was definitely shaken up once we got her to dry land," Glenn said. "I was going to put her in the sun to dry off, but it was SO HOT that day that I thought a shady spot would be better."
Glenn and his children watched the little animal closely. After about 20 minutes, it appeared to have recovered from the ordeal and "scurried away quickly into the bushes and disappeared."
Glenn is convinced his kids will probably remember rescuing the rodent for a while.
"Now, my daughter wants to check the bushes every time we go outside to see if the 'baby mouse' is still there," he said.