“[S]he was barely holding on to the edge …”
A relaxing afternoon in the backyard became an unforgettable wildlife rescue after one family’s children spotted a tiny animal struggling to stay afloat in their swimming pool.
JJ McDermott had been sitting beneath a patio umbrella while his children, Fox and Raven, enjoyed cooling off in the pool on a hot summer day. Everything seemed perfectly ordinary until Fox suddenly climbed out of the water and hurried over with an urgent announcement.
His son excitedly told him there was a rat in the pool.
At first, McDermott wasn’t convinced. The family occasionally finds moles that accidentally end up in the water, so he assumed this was another similar situation.
However, when he looked more closely, he noticed a small brown rodent with a long tail desperately clinging to the edge of the pool filter. Whether it was a young rat or a mouse remained uncertain, but one thing was immediately obvious—it needed help.
The exhausted little animal was soaked and barely managing to keep its head above the water. Realizing every second mattered, McDermott rushed to grab a pool skimmer while his children carefully watched over their unexpected visitor.
Two-year-old Raven, who has a special love for animals, eagerly wanted to help with the rescue. McDermott decided to let her play an active role, turning the experience into a memorable lesson in kindness and compassion.
Working together, father and daughter carefully slid the pool skimmer beneath the tiny animal. After a few careful attempts, they successfully lifted the frightened rodent from the water and gently placed it on a nearby patch of grass.
Although safely out of the pool, the little survivor was still exhausted from the ordeal. McDermott considered leaving it in the sunshine to warm up, but because temperatures were extremely high that day, he instead chose a cool, shaded location where the animal could recover without risking overheating.
The family kept a watchful eye on their small guest for a while before returning to their afternoon activities. About twenty minutes later, McDermott checked on the animal again and found that it had regained enough strength to dart into nearby bushes and disappear safely.
The rescue left a lasting impression on everyone involved.
For the children, the experience became one of the highlights of the day. Raven, in particular, has continued thinking about the tiny animal ever since. According to McDermott, she now asks to look through the bushes whenever the family goes outside, hoping to catch another glimpse of the little “baby mouse” they helped save.
Though they never learned for certain whether their unexpected visitor was a young rat or a mouse, the family was simply grateful they were able to give the small animal a second chance.