A man in Australia is being hailed as a hero after coming to the rescue of a dog that wound up stuck in a gate.

In August, Stephen Morando, who goes by @papamoandwillow on TikTok, posted a clip on the platform showing the moment he came to the aid of the "chonky" pup, which had managed to wedge himself between the bars of his owner's front gate.

"I had just picked my kids up from kindergarten and was heading home when I drove past this house," Morando told Newsweek. "Not believing what I'd just seen, I hit the brakes and backed up."

After a quick assessment of the situation, Morando reckoned he had a pretty good idea of what had happened. "Pupper was definitely trying to escape but had a few too many snackos to get his belly between the railings," he said.

While many people love a chubby dog—arguing that there's something undeniably cute about slightly chunkier pets—being overweight is linked to a host of health issues, and a concerning proportion of pets fall into this category.

According to a survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, in 2022, 59 percent of domesticated dogs in the U.S. were overweight.

Morando said he felt the need to record the encounter because it felt so outlandish. "I don't think anyone would have believed me if I didn't get it on camera," he added.

Thankfully, Morando was able to help the dog get unstuck. The encounter left the busy dad with a well-earned sense of satisfaction as he carried on with his day.

"It feels good to help out the helpless," he said.

In the comments section of the video, which has received 326,000 views, TikTok users applauded Morando for his efforts.

"Not all hero's wear capes so they say, good on ya mate," one user wrote, while another added, "I like how you guided his chonk through the bars like kneading play doh."

"I've never seen a better video to describe what it's like to live with a staffy," a commenter wrote, and another said, "Thank you for helping."

One viewer added, "We just lost our old chonky staffy girl this week, she looked just like him and this video made me happy cry totally something she would have done."

Morando said that though he was praised, it was the dog in the video that "stole the show" and helped the clip get noticed. He's pleased to report that steps have been taken to prevent a repeat of the incident.

He said, "Turned out a friend of mine knew the owner, and he has since fixed the gate."