A dog with his head stuck in a jug finds his owner

Get ready to wag your tail. The dog with the jug stuck to its head, rescued on Sunday when a group of dedicated volunteers searched Lookout Mountain, is now at home with its owner.

The dog, who Chris Molds called Buckethead, is actually Fisher, and he had been missing from his Hokes Bluff home since Dec. 20.

The dog caught the eye of Brittany Rains, a letter carrier, on Sunday as she traveled her route. She tried to help him, but couldn’t approach him. She took a photo and as it was shared on social media, other animal lovers started looking for the dog.

He looked skinny in the photo and they had no way of knowing how long his head had been stuck in the container preventing him from getting food or water.

Molds (who is active in animal rescue efforts), Jolene Fagin, Ashley Smith, Dustin Frazier and others dug in – organizing a Sunday morning effort that brought out around 35 people.

“Ashley Hill Smith and Dustin Frazier were the keys to his capture,” Molds said in a Facebook post. “Ashley was able to tackle Fisher in the woods and pull the container off his head. At this point a perimeter was set up to contain him.”

However, Fisher escaped before the perimeter was set and walked a few more blocks – passing through a “very high traffic area”, Mr Molds said – but he soon received a call from Gina Hollingsworth telling him saying the dog had been caught.

Frazier, on a dirt bike for easier access to the woods, was following Fisher and was about to earn the dog’s trust, Moulds said. He managed to slip a leash over the dog and hold him.

Frazier’s wife, Nicole, owns Bark Avenue Boarding and Grooming, and she agreed to take Fisher there to clean him up and let him rest, Mr. Molds said.

After the dog was rescued and the story circulated, the owner realized that his dog – missing for around 34 days – had been found. He visited Bark Avenue on Monday, Molds said, and with Fisher’s help was able to positively identify the animal.

Molds said the owner – who has not been identified – was grateful to have found Fisher. The dog had escaped before, Mr Molds said, but now plans are in place to chip him, so he can be found more easily. and castrated, to limit his wanderings.

Many people had offered to give the unfortunate animal a home. Potential adopters contacted the Times from as far away as California and Florida. (“I bet he would like to retire in Florida,” one offered).

Molds and others said the successful rescue was a great community effort and helped forge many new relationships between animal lovers and rescue groups.

He said the plan had been to keep the dog for seven days to give an owner the chance to claim it.

Molds said he worked with animal rescue groups as far away as Minnesota, and his thought was that if the dog wasn’t claimed by an owner, he might eventually get there.

However, he and others involved in the rescue were thrilled to see Fisher reunited with his owner and returned home.