An innocent bystander of the four-legged variety was nearly a casualty of a Breakfast reporter’s enthusiasm for a fundraising mid-winter swim.

Tessa Parker was crossing to Friday morning’s show from Narrow Neck Beach on Auckland’s North Shore, where Kenzie's Gift supporters were going for a swim to raise funds for mental health.

At the end of the cross, with people slowly walking into the water, Parker suddenly jumped into frame yelling “alright team, wish me luck” before throwing the mic away and charging towards the water.

“Oh, don’t take the dog out,” a laughing Jenny-May Clarkson said from the studio as Parker turned and accidentally kneed an equally excited dog in the head.

Both the dog and reporter's knee were fine.