Man Spots Huge Beaver Struggling In Deep Mud But OMG, That’s No Beaver!

Ah, there’s nothing like a walk in nature to soothe the spirit and ease the troubled mind.

Sometimes a short journey through nice woods with dogs at your side can do a world of good.

When Oklahoma’s Jim Passmore decided to take his dogs out for a walk along Haikey Creek near the town of Broken Arrow he was expecting a nice rejuvenating jaunt.

Sounds like a perfect way to spend a day, right?

Things were going along smoothly until he saw something that looked like a beaver flopping weakly around in the creek bed.

Some people would have just kept on walking. After all, it was a nice day, his dogs were happy and he was enjoying himself.

But, he couldn’t stop without seeing if perhaps a beaver or some other animal needed help.

He’s not sure what prompted him to check it out so closely, but he’s forever glad that he did!

It wasn’t a beaver that he had seen struggling in the sticky mud…it was a dog!

A very tired dog at that, and one that had obviously been floundering there for some time.

Jim wasted no time calling for authorities to help when he realized how serious the situation was.

The dog was totally stuck in the mud and tiring quickly; if he succumbed to his fatigue, he would most likely drown!

The police arrived after just a few minutes, and soon a crowd of watchers surrounded the scene. Rescuers arrived soon thereafter and quickly got to work.

It was definitely not their usual type of animal rescue. Not only was the dog really really stuck, but he was really really overweight!

The dog was so tired and terrified that he snapped at everyone who approached. He had no idea they were there to help him.

He just knew that he was in pain and he couldn’t move and he didn’t want anyone touching him, which is understandable.

Finally, they thought to wrap a shirt around the dog’s head so he couldn’t bite the rescuers and the darkness might calm him down.

The man leading the rescue then tied a rope around the dog and handed the end of the rope to the police officer.

The officer gave the rope a gentle tug, and…nothing happened. That dog was STUCK!

Finally, with the rescuer pushing and the officer pulling, the dog popped out of the mud like a cork out of a bottle. The officer used the rope to drag the dog onto dry land.

The exhausted dog just laid where he was pulled. He was too terrified and exhausted to move.

But his troubles weren’t over yet!

A quick exam found no serious injuries, but the officer believes that the dog was hit by a car, after which tumbled he down the hill and into the mud.

His weight would’ve meant he was going fairly fast when he finally hit the bottom. And…splat…there he stuck. 

They quickly wrapped the dog in blankets and got him dried and warm.

They nicknamed him Teddy Bear because of his rotund and fluffy appearance.

His demeanor was anything but cuddly and cute though.

In fact, he had managed to bite one of the rescuers before he realized they were trying to help him. 

He was then taken to a vet who checked him out thoroughly.

Rescuers were told that the dog was about eight years old and, as they had already figured out, seriously obese.

Obviously he was very well fed, so they hoped that someone would come forward to claim him.

But, nobody did…

Finally they had to make a decision about Teddy’s fate. If he went to the Broken Arrow shelter, he would almost certainly be euthanized eventually.

Their shelter, like so many around the country, was full to the brim and dogs had to be euthanized almost every day to make room for the next ones that would arrive.

Poor Teddy didn’t deserve that fate after all he’d been through!

Lucky for Teddy, the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals stepped in and agreed to sponsor Teddy’s care.

Because Teddy had bitten one of the rescuers, the local law said he had to be quarantined for a certain number of days to ensure he didn’t have rabies.

He was given pain meds to help with his bumps and bruises from the harrowing experience, and the staff got a chance to share the love with Teddy.

They soon found that under the gruff exterior actually was just a big ol’ teddy bear!

Poor Teddy still wasn’t the happiest guy in the house. He was very lethargic, and because of his excess weight, had a hard time getting up and down.

He was getting depressed and shelter workers kept praying that his owner would show up and give Teddy a reason to live.

But still, nobody arrived.

Even though his previous owners didn’t want him, Teddy’s good looks and charm didn’t go unnoticed.

Some fans on OAA’s Facebook page offered their support:

“When he’s out of quarantine I want to come love on him,” one commenter wrote.

We’re sure by the time this is written, Teddy is safe in a happy, loving home.

We just hope they put him on a good diet…and that he doesn’t decide to take any more mud baths!

Source: Honest To Paws