ohmidog!

Trapped in a tar pit in Keokuk, Iowa, a small dog had all but disappeared under the steamy muck by the time police and an animal control officer showed up.

Tipped off by a citizen who heard the dog’s cries from a  landfill, rescuers arrived to see only one side of the dog’s face — an eye and his nose — above the tar that was swallowing him up.

Tar Dog, as he has been dubbed, is fine now, though he still has some black and sticky patches on his fur.

According to the Daily Gate in Keokuk, rescuers slid wooden planks into the tar, trying to position one under him to lift him out.

“We were unable to see where his legs, tail or most of his body were positioned,” said animal control officer Eric Lindley. “We had to basically pry him out with boards positioned under him in the tar.”

As soon as the 15-pound beagle-dachshund mix was freed, he was wrapped in towels and taken to Krichel Animal Hospital, where he was rehydrated, cleaned up, and cleaned up, and cleaned up some more.

“He is doing just great,” said Jean Meyer, who works at Keokuk Animal Services. “He was walking with volunteers and bouncing. He’s one lucky little dog.”

No one knows how the dog got through the fence surrounding Keokuk’s old landfill last week, or how it managed to become stuck in the tar, which was in a sticky liquid state due to the heat. No one knows who the good samaritan who called police is either.

Friends of Keokuk Animal Services is trying to raise funds to pay for the nearly $1,000 cost of Tar Dog’s veterinary care and treatment.

Anyone interested in contributing to the dog’s care can send donations to FOKAS, P. O. Box 1181, Keokuk, IA or contact Meyer at 524-1127 or 526-5421. If funds in excess of Tar Dog’s costs are raised, they will be put into a fund to care for other animals needing care.