UPDATE (01/22/20 9:59 a.m.) — The trapped dog, Buck, that a Baldwin County hunter found in a hole is said to be improving.
He now has a new sweater bought by one of the vet techs at Central Baldwin Veterinary hospital in Robertsdale. He is up and walking without any assistance and no longer has an IV.
Doctors said the first 48 hours were critical and he seems to have made it through the initial part of his recovery with flying colors.
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. (WKRG) — A Baldwin County hunter looking for a deer finds a dog instead trapped in a hole. He rescues him, rushes him to a local vet, posts on Facebook in search of the owner and now he’s being called a hero.
We will never know what this dog went through but what we can tell you, he is lucky to be alive.
“Obviously somebody probably dumped him and there are a lot of people that wouldn’t care that would keep going so very lucky,” says Dr. Angie Truett at Central Baldwin Animal Hospital.
They call the Boxer “Buck” because that was what Jared Melton was hunting when he heard something. “It was him bellowing trying to call out for help. It was a noise I had never heard before.” Trapped in what he believes was an armadillo hole, Melton brought the dog to his vet in really bad shape. “His body temperature,” says Dr. Truett. “It was so low it wouldn’t register on a thermometer. It was near-fatal body temperature.”
While doctors worked to save his life, Melton posted on Facebook what had happened in hopes of finding the dog’s owner. But what happened next, “Everybody on there calling me a hero and a saint and I’m not that. I’m just a guy that got lucky and found a dog and helped him cause I’d want that help in return if that was me in there.”
Bucks’ prognosis is good. He weighs only 36 pounds and still has a long road ahead of him. But, when he gets there Melton will be waiting. “I’ll take him home. If nobody else keeps him, nobody claims him, I’ll take him home.”
Doctors did a scan for a ‘micro-chip’ but didn’t find one. They say the first 48 hours are critical but they think he is going to be okay.
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