Dog Gets Stuck in a Tree, 20 Years Later They Make a Discovery When It's Cut Down
Nestled inside the Southern Forest World museum in Waycross, Georgia, is a tree stump that contains the mummified remains of a 4-year-old hound dog that’s been dubbed “Stuckie.”
According to Roadside America, a blog whose owners travel the country in search of interesting roadside attractions, a lumber crew found the mummified carcass in the trunk of a cut chestnut oak tree in 1980.
“Rather than send the dog to the pulp mill, the loggers donated it to Forest World,” where it has remained since, the blog notes.
What remains unknown is exactly how Stuckie got stuck there in the first place.
“People always ask me, ‘How did he get in there?'” Brandy Stevenson, Forest World’s manager, told the folks at Roadside America.
“And I always say, ‘Well, he was a hound dog. Maybe he was after a coon.’ And then they’ll say, ‘Poor old thing. I feel so sorry for him.'”
Ultimately, nobody really knows for sure how Stuckie got stuck, though The Huffington Post points out that “experts think he has been stuck since 1960.”
What we do know is how he became mummified.
“A chimney effect occurred in the hollow tree, resulting in an upward draft of air,” reportedly reads a sign that Forest World’s staff has placed alongside the stump.
“This caused the scent of the dead animal to be carried away, which otherwise would have attracted insects and other organisms that feed on dead animals. The hollow tree also provided relatively dry conditions, and the tannic acid of the oak helped harden the animal’s skin.”
And there you have it.
If you want to get an up-close look at Stuckie, check out the video below (WARNING: Some might find the video disturbing.):
Obviously, dying while stuck inside a tree stump sounds awfully horrific. But also consider the bright side — the fact that instead of dying and being forever forgotten, Stuckie shall remain perpetually etched in American history.
That’s not bad, right?
There’s one other thing to note. Stuckie wasn’t originally called Stuckie. Folks just called him “Mummified Dog” up until 2002, when Southern Forest World ran a name-the-dog contest, and apparently the name Stuckie won.
There’s not much else to say except rest in peace, my dear friend, and remember, you’ll never be forgotten!
H/T Wide Open Spaces
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