by A stray puppy was rescued from a terrible end after he was found glued to the ground in a pool of tar. He was yelping for help when a passerby spotted the dog lying on his side, unable to move in the sticky substance at what is known as the County barn in Yazoo County in Mississippi.
Mike Frazier, who spotted the puppy, contacted rescuers from FLY Animal Rescue, who arrived to free the puppy on Mother’s Day (May 14, 2017). Stray dogs are known to live in the area and it appears the puppy managed to get into trouble when he went through a gap in the fence.
Members of the group worked to free the puppy without hurting him as he was caked in a few inches of tar. They were successful in pulling him free, but some of his fur came off in the process and he was virtually covered in tar.
FLY Animal Rescue
Danielle Lynn Hearn Boatner was among the rescuers and filmed them saving the puppy, who they’ve named Warrior.
Watch Warrior’s rescue from the tar in the video below. Please note: the video may take a few seconds to load.
Boatner said the rescue was a group effort to save Warrior including her husband Will Boatner, Ricky Shivers, Kimberly R Denmark, Lamar Tindle, Bo Coleman, and “the county barn worker that opened the gate so we could finally get in once he was pulled from the tar.”
FLY Animal Rescue
Boatner also wrote on Facebook that Warrior’s mouth was “tarred shut” and that “warm water and Dawn” did wonders when he was immediately freed but it took several hour of trying to get it cleaned up, but Warrior wasn’t out of the woods yet.
FLY Animal Rescue
They rushed him to Yazoo City Animal Hospital where it took several days to remove the tar. He needed a few breaks in between treatments so as to not be too hard on his system.
Here’s a short clip of Warrior taking a break from tar removal.
“Tomorrow is Day 3 of tar removal…it’s tedious and we can only do it while he is sedated,” wrote Boatner. “He will be mostly bald once it’s all removed. I can’t wait to free him from this and show this feral soul what love is.”
FLY Animal Rescue
Thankfully, Warrior survived his ordeal and is on the mend. He is now in foster care with FLY Animal Rescue.
FLY Animal Rescue
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is overseeing the cleanup and disposal of the tar that trapped Warrior at the county barn and a wooden fence has been built around the storage bin to prevent another animal from becoming accidentally trapped.
FLY Animal Rescue
As for Warrior’s mom, rescuers are still attempting to catch her – the feral dog is well known to rescuers but she has proved very difficult to catch as she is “super smart” at evading capture.
Warrior is not currently up for adoption as he has a long recovery ahead (he has a major bacterial infection that will take a while to heal) but FLY says he has a “warrior’s spirit” and is slowly becoming a playful puppy with his foster carers.
FLY Animal Rescue
Visit FLY Animal Rescue’s Facebook page to learn more about the dogs they rescue and have up for adoption. Share Warrior’s rescue with your family and friends and don’t forget to support your local animal rescues to help them save dogs like Warrior!
