New York, New York - "What is that in the water? It looks like a seal!" Scott DeNaro said to his wife Carol.

The couple were out near the shore of Jamaica Bay when they spotted an animal struggling to keep afloat in freezing waters, but they couldn't make out what it was at first.

As they watched for another minute, Scott guessed it might be a duck, his wife recalled. But then she realized: "Oh my God, I think it's a dog!"

As soon as they both realized the dog was drowning out at sea, they didn't think twice to call the harbor patrol, they told the New York Daily News.

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Fortunately, the NYPD was quick to rescue the poor pooch from the ice-cold bay and took him to the vet immediately.

But how did the poor pup end up in the bay?

It turns out Jason Novetsky and Karen Dublin had been frantically looking for their beloved Georgia, the NYPD later shared on Twitter.

They had just adopted the shepherd mix puppy five days earlier. Apparently, Georgia had gotten worked up about something during a walk.

"And I tried to remain really calm (...) I kneeled down and used my sweetest voice to try and calm her down. And she just decided to run," Novetsky told the Daily News.

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He ran after Georgia for 40 blocks, but eventually lost her. He and his girlfriend immediately posted her photo on Facebook and began asking passersby if they had seen their pup, without success.

But not long after, Karen Dublin revived a call from the NYPD that Georgia had been pulled out of Jamaica Bay. Although the couple was shocked to hear what trouble Georgia had gotten into, they were relieved to be reunited with their new pup.

"We're just so happy she's home," Karen said.