This is the heartwarming moment firemen rescued a frightened pet dog stranded in a canal in Florida.

A concerned local spotted the hapless canine stuck in the waterway at Sweeting Park in Fort Lauderdale.

This prompted the worried passerby to call the rescue team on the morning of August 5.

Footage shows the black pooch standing in the water near the bank while two officers caress its head to comfort the animal.

One of the men then carefully carried the dog out of the water and placed her on dry ground.

The other firefighter then helped the pooch regain her balance while petting rubbing her fur.

Firefighter Mason McConchie said: 'I'm sure a few minutes before we got there, she was probably on the brink of drowning. Glad we didn't have to see that.'

One of the officers said: 'It's just the right thing to do. We had to get this dog out of the water. I took my shoes off to go grab her.'

After the successful rescue, the dog was scanned for a microchip.

Authorities contacted the former owner and learned the dog was adopted in 2018 but rehomed a few months later when the family moved to St Cloud.

The original owner reportedly drove three hours to Fort Lauderdale to reclaim the canine.