Pet-loving volunteers in Alabama rescued a stray dog with a bucket stuck on his head after a a viral picture sparked a widespread search for the poor pooch.
Buck, a lab mix, and his fellow stray best bud — Belgian Malinois “Milo” — were inseperable whenever residents in Arley, Alabama saw them scampering through the community, as reported by WTVM 13.
Buck seemed to rely on Milo for sight and survival — no thanks to a grimy plastic bucket stuck on his head.
Even though Buck’s ability to scavenge was practically nonexistent, Milo refused to leave his side. To compensate for his friend’s unconventional handicap, Milo snapped at any and all perceived threats, animal trapper Kaleb Estill explained to the outlet.
When a picture of Buck hunched over in the woods with the bucket snared on his head went viral, volunteers flocked to the woods to try and find the strays.
Eric Bowman led the search efforts and was finally able to free Buck’s head from the bucket on Thursday.
“I came up behind him with a pair of snips and started cutting on the bucket. We eased the bucket of his head, and it was like his whole attitude changed. As soon as the bucket came off his head, you could see the relief on him, and he just went almost limp,” Bowman recounted to the outlet.
Estill was preoccupied with an anxious Milo while Bowman fiddled with the bucket. Both strays were perfectly calm once the bucket was discarded.
Buck was treated at a shelter for sinus and ear infections while Milo recovered from a hip injury. The “best buds” will be up for adoption after they recover—as a package deal, Bowman told the outlet.
“I hope that they find a good owner that’ll keep them both together. Because that Malinois stuck with that black dog through all that. They definitely have a bond,” Estill told the outlet.
In August, another stray dog with a cheeseball bucket stuck on her head, affectionately named “Dallas Cheddar,” was rescued in Pennsylvania.
In 2023, a dog in Michigan was also found with his head stuck in a cheese ball jar. A good Samaritan turned the sickly dog over to the shelter, which named him “Cheeto” — though a worker at the shelter tried hard to convince his coworkers to name the pup “Jughead.”
