EDINA, Minn. — The best part about Tom and Deirdre Mahoney's home is that they have front row seats to nature's most interesting program.
"We have coyote, we have deer, right now we have a bunch...probably 20 to 25 mallards," Tom Mahoney listed.
Step out onto their patio, and it's not hard to see that the wetlands that lie in their backyard is teeming with life. Crows were cawing and even cranes were around.
However, Thursday evening, Mahoney said his wife noticed something that wasn't a part of the usual scene.
"She pointed out to me and says, 'see, that's a dog out there,'" Mahoney said. "It was a little black blob and there are a lot of black blobs out there. Finally I got the binoculars out. Lo and behold, it was a dog."
More specifically, the black blob was Benny.
Somewhere in Hopkins, Allie Smulka was frantically searching for the dog that she was dog-sitting.
"I put in a missing dog report in Minnetonka, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Minneapolis and Hennepin County and the only one I hadn't done yet was Edina," Smulka said.
Smulka explained that when she returned from a walk with Benny, she decided to unload her work stuff from her car. She said knowing that her hands would be full, she tied Benny up to a table out in her backyard.
She said when Benny pulled the table and it toppled over, the table scared him and he bolted. She said it was a scene watching Benny run around, still tied to the table, now dragging it behind him.
Eventually, she said the table was wedged and Benny pulled loose, dashing off into the distance, still scared by the experience.
She said she took off after him but lost track after a while. That's when she started to call her friends for help, report Benny missing and make posts on social media.
Meanwhile, Benny had traveled several miles and somehow ended up in a marshy area in Edina, behind the Mahoney's home.
When the Mahoney's found him, he was literally wound up in a pickle.
"I noticed its leash was wrapped around its right hind leg," Tom Mahoney said.
However, it wasn't a problem a few good Samaritans and a canoe couldn't fix. The Mahoney's had called 911 and asked for animal control. While they were waiting for animal control officers to show up with the right equipment, Mahoney explained that they could give his neighbor's canoe a shot in getting across the icy water.
Mahoney said it was difficult to navigate through the reeds and ice but eventually he got close to Benny, and captured him.
"He was a very lovable little guy," Mahoney said. He explained that the animal control officer who was already on scene was able to take Benny to an animal emergency room. The rest is history.
"My heart about popped out of my chest but we went to the vet and he is completely fine," Smulka said. She said he was covered in burrs and had tender paws from running so far but otherwise he is doing great.
She said she is glad Benny's owners can return from their honeymoon to a happy dog.