When workers at the Lost Creek Country Club in Austin, Texas, realized a great horned owl was caught in fishing line in a pond on the golf course, they knew he would need help being set free. Without any professionals available to do the job, Craig Loving jumped to the rescue.

Loving isn’t trained to rescue animals, but when he heard the owl needed help, he was glad to do his part. The owl’s wing and foot were tangled in the line leaving the owl unable to leave the perch he had found in the pond, but Loving knew he would have to proceed with caution.

According to Nature.org, great horned owls are not an animal to be messed with. They will attack a human if they feel threatened. Even with the risk, Loving didn’t want the owl to have to wait several hours until professional rescuers would be available. The owl had already been tangled all day and all night.

Being very careful and working slowly, Loving approached the owl and began to work to free it. He says the owl clicked its beak a few times to let him know that he didn’t like what was happening, but Loving said he kept talking to the owl and reassuring him that he was only trying to help. With a lot of caution and patience, the owl was finally free.

Loving used the handle of a shovel as a perch to move the owl from the water on to dry land. The owl seemed hesitant at first, but still allowed Loving to touch him and check to see if any more fishing line could be found.

Apparently feeling good enough to move around again, the owl spread his wings and flew back into the woods. Loving says he has never done anything like that before, but says it was nice to see his efforts rewarded with the owl being healthy and able to fly free again.