The young kangaroo didn't seem grateful as he or she (it was hard to determine) finally gasped and quivered in safety on the bank of the Clyde River on the NSW South Coast.
But the rescue in Batemans Bay had been a struggle for probationary constable Tevita Tuivaga and fisherman Cam Grindrod. The roo didn't know who its friends were.
It was spotted struggling to stay above the water in the middle of the wide river, a river known for sharks.
Seeing the animal in distress, the policeman flagged down a fishing boat and, in the line of duty, headed out on the mission - but the endangered animal was reluctant to be rescued.
"I grabbed it by its back. Another bloke that was driving the boat picked it up from the legs, and then we led it way back to the oyster sheds," the officer said.
The "other bloke" was Mr Grindrod. "We had some rope on the boat, and all of us were holding different limbs and trying not to get kicked too much, and trying to keep him as calm as possible," the fisherman said.
He had seen the roo on the wharf earlier and watched him jump into the water, and then headed out when the stricken animal was seen far out in the river.
"This one was panicky. And he was drowning so he was tired, so he didn't know whether he wanted to come onto the boat or not."
In the end, they held him tight in the water and conveyed him towards the bank. But the animal wouldn't go ashore - too many people watching, probably.
Eventually, a punt used by oyster farmers and the boat with the policeman herded the roo to a quiet stretch of bank, where it hopped out of the wet and then just crouched, panting and mesmerised by the experience - and unaware of the kindness of strangers.
Some noted that a busy road was nearby.
