The passerby, who was later identified as Joao Augusto shouted to the building's caretaker to bring a sheet or a towel to put down, but it was too late, the dog fell through and soared through the air. The man stretched out his hands and managed to catch the dog.
"Then, it fell from the ninth floor. I knew that I wouldn't be able to catch it but I was aware that I could cushion the fall. I was on the ground for a few seconds but it was from relief. I think that I was in the right place at the right time," Joao Augusto said.
The dog amazingly survived the fall and can be seen running off, seemingly unharmed.
Dogs from the Shih Tzu breed, as a rule, weigh from 4.5 to 8 kilograms (10-18 pounds).
But when falling from 98 feet (about 30 meters), weight increases gradually, so the poor pooch probably weighed about 200 kilograms (441 pounds) when it struck the man and knocked him down. Thankfully, Joao Augusto was not injured in the incident.
The dog's owner has installed protective netting on the balcony to prevent this from happening again.