One car owner in China learned the hard way that it is not usually a good idea to leave a dog in your car.

At around 5:40pm on 10 December, a man said to be a local shopkeeper, briefly parked his car beside a pond in Xinguang Village, Jinhua, Zhejiang.

As he planned to return almost immediately with a box, he left the engine running and the boot of the car open.

But the dog in the car got excited and knocked the gear stick into drive mode, sending the vehicle into the water.

Fortunately he was able to rescue his dog from the submerged car. It is not known if he was able to salvage the vehicle though.