This is Rio — a sweet dog who loves nothing more than going on adventures outdoors with his owner, Dín Medina Torres.

But recently, while on a hike near their home in Peru, their adventure went horribly awry.

Torres and Rio were exploring a forested mountainside when they happened upon a rocky clearing overlooking the valley below. Torres took out his phone to film the view as Rio moved to sniff a nearby tree.

It was then that the unforeseeable occurred — the ground began to give way below Rio’s feet.

Torres quickly called for Rio to move from the spot, but he wasn’t able to escape in time. And just like that, he was swept away in the devastating landslide.

“When my brother sent me the video, I didn’t believe it,” Jessie, Torres’ sister, told The Dodo. “I started to shake with anxiety, but deep in my heart, I knew that Rio was still alive.”

And she was right.

Miraculously, Rio had survived, suffering only minor injuries.

“We all thought that Rio would be severely injured by the rocks or trees,” Jessie said. “Happily, he managed to get out successfully.”

The Dodo reached out to Torres for comment, but our request wasn’t immediately returned. Jessie, however, confirms that the scary incident has a happy ending.

“Rio is doing very well now,” she said, emphasizing how much he means to their family. “He brings us different feelings every day. Sometimes, he makes us laugh a lot, and other times, like the day of the slide, we were very worried. [But] every day he brings happiness to our home.”

Hiking is a great activity for people and dogs alike, performed the safest with the use of a leash. With any luck, Torres and Rio will keep that in mind going forward, and won’t let that freak occurrence slow them down on their future adventures.

In fact, their regarding the dog’s death-defying feat as a badge of honor.

“Now we joke that Rio is the only dog that surfs on earth,” Jessie said.