HFD’s James Boyd said the rescue was his first time saving an animal. "I guess some people have cats in trees, and we have Chihuahuas in the bayou."

From baby elephants and jaguars and the arrival of a rare hippo at the Houston Zoo to the return of a rescued sea turtle to the Gulf of Mexico, the stories are diverse but with one common denominator: they were all about happy endings and new beginnings.

Teams of firefighters sprang into action in Texas on Friday when staff at the Houston Botanic Garden noticed a tiny Chihuahua was stuck underneath a pedestrian bridge. Photos posted to Facebook show the small dog sitting on one of the footings of the bridge, which spans the Sims Bayou channel.

A firefighter jumped into Sims Bayou and swam to the Chihuahua. When he got close, the feisty little dog barked at him and nipped at his fingers.