ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) – A St. Petersburg family is happy their pet is alive after a scary situation that they weren’t aware of for a month.

Dave and Carol Kanaska got their dog, Presley, in April during the height of the pandemic. They said the 1-year-old pup is rambunctious, loves to play and loves people.

“One of his favorite things to do twice a week is to go chase the garbage truck away. So every time he hears it, no matter where he’s at in the house, he’ll hear it… he runs out the doggie door and he runs across the pool deck barking, barking ’til the garbage truck runs away,” Dave said. “Then he comes inside to get a treat ’cause that’s what he does, he scares away the garbage truck for us.”

The couple remembered an instance about a month ago where Presley came back inside from chasing the truck and he was wet. He was acting normal, so they didn’t think anything of it. Presley has a step he liked to sit on when the couple is in the pool, but doesn’t like to swim.

“I went outside I looked and I saw the deep end down there had like water marks all over the edge of it, so ‘great he got himself out of the pool in the deep end this time instead of just on the step.’ I didn’t think anything of it,” Dave said.

He said about a week and a half ago, they ran into their sanitation worker, named Edward, who asked if they knew what had happened.

“He told me, he says, yeah he was driving by, he always sees Presley chasing, waves or whatever, barks back, and he said he saw Presley cut the corner of the pool too sharp and he fell in,” Dave explained.

Edward saw Presley struggling in the deep end and immediately stopped his truck.

“He stopped his truck really fast and he jumped over our fence – our 6-foot privacy fence in the backyard – and pulled Presley out of the pool and Presley thanked him and he ran back and then Presley, he ran into the house like nothing, and he was all wet,” he said. “And I said he was all wet but we didn’t know that Edward did that to save Presley.”

Dave and Carol called the city of St. Pete to make sure Edward’s efforts would be noticed. They said he is going to be recognized at the city’s awards ceremony.

As for Presley? He’s still clumsy, but he’s doing well.

“He plays hard and slides into things and, you know, he doesn’t mind a little bit of banging around cuz he loves it. He loves to play,” Carol said.