VIDEO: Doctor's quick action frees dog caught in moving elevator

TAMPA, Fla. -- One Florida man who spends his days helping people live healthier lives is credited with saving a dog from death.

It happened when someone in his building accidentally left a leash in an elevator.

Surveillance cameras caught the whole thing, showing the elevator doors closing on this dog's leash as the owner panicked, trying to free her pup.

Right at that moment, Doctor Mohammed Awad walks in the door, holding a plate of food.

He immediately saw what was happening and threw his food to the ground, not wasting a second.

You can see Awad jumping over and over trying to pull the dog down. He even stumbles himself before finally snapping the leash free.

"In my head I'm like there's nothing else you can do," he said. "I have to go help this dog, and it was all like slow motion timing."

Dr. Awad said he's grateful that he was the one there that Sunday night, and that his instincts took over.

"Honestly? I wasn't really thinking about anything," Awad said. "I dropped all my food. I jumped to try to grab the dog to try to break the leash. Initially it didn't work out. I go back at it again, the dog is screaming and screaming and I'm like, 'oh my god the dog has seconds to live.'"

Luckily, in this fight or flight moment, he had the strength to snap the leash and the dog tumbled to safety right on top of Awad's dinner.

"Even though I'm a human physician, I went and examined the dog," Awad said. "I touched his throat, looked at it. The dog drank some water. I knew it'd be okay."

And while Awad said he doesn't know the woman he helped or that pup personally, he said he would do it again in a heartbeat.

"I felt like anyone else in my position would have done the same thing," he said.