A stray dog from India has made an amazing recovery after surviving for days trapped inside a barrel of tar.
For the stray dog in Udaipur, India, surviving without a family was simply a way of life.
When she was alone at night, nobody noticed. When she was hungry and cold, nobody seemed to care.
One night, the dog sought out shelter inside of a barrel. The cozy, dark hiding place must have seemed like a safe, warm option to spend a chilly night.
The poor puppy had no way of predicting that climbing into the barrel would leave her trapped for days without water, food or the hope of a family who would come looking for her.
But team members from Animal Aid Unlimited, India, care greatly about the stray dogs in their region.
When they heard about the dog’s terrible situation, they were immediately present on the scene to help.
“We think she may have gone inside the drum to get warm during the night,” Animal Aid wrote on YouTube, “and that her own body heat started to melt the tar which she then sank into and was unable to free herself from.”
Animal aid workers told reporters that the dog was so terrified that she was actually hyperventilating. She was in severe pain, dehydrated and trapped up to her chest in thick, deadly tar.
“When we found her she was no longer struggling and seemed to have completely given up all hope,” Animal Aid stated.
And so they got to work, finding a safe way to get the helpless dog from the tar. They named her Asha and worked to keep her poised and calm in the midst of what must have been a terrifying rescue.
Rescuers used a saw to cut into the barrel, a sound which must have been terrible to the traumatized dog’s ears.
Once rescuers could safely reach Asha, they began to gently remove her wounded body from the bottom of the barrel by pouring oil over her fur and massaging the tar away.
The task was time-consuming, but eventually, rescuers lifted Asha’s exhausted body from the barrel. Half her body was still covered in tar, and she would need multiple days of baths before she was tar-free.
She now has a home at an animal sanctuary, where she will be safe, loved and watched over for the rest of her doggy days.
