A man in Houston saved his neighbor’s dog after its leash got caught in an elevator, posting CCTV footage of the dramatic rescue on Twitter.

The video showed Johnny Mathis exiting the elevator at his apartment complex in Houston, Texas, as his neighbor entered, but her dog, which was on a long leash, failed to follow before the doors closed.

Mathis leapt into action, managing to unlatch the dog from the leash as the lift ascended.

Mathis told CNN: “When she got on I was looking at the dog because it was a cute dog. I noticed the leash was kinda long but I didn’t think it wasn’t going to make it on the elevator or anything.

“Instinct just kicked in. I just grabbed that leash,” he said. “There was so much fur, that’s why it took me a bit to get that lever off of the collar and when I did, I let go, you could see that leash just shoot off to the top of the elevator.”

Mathis said on Twitter that the dog’s owner “started screaming as soon as the door shut and was bawling her eyes out when it came back down, she thought the worst poor [thing]”.

“I’m thankful I was there at the right time to help,” he said.