In Suwalki, Poland, as workers walked down a road near a forest, some strange sounds could be heard. The more they walked, the louder the sounds got. Then, suddenly, those sounds became familiar. It was a dog barking. But it wasn’t the normal barking of a dog. It was a very panicked barking.
So the workers decided to track down the animal. And when they did, they were horrified at the sight. There in front of them was a small dog lying on its side completely trapped in a puddle of tar.
The animal could hardly move and could only bark to let others know the peril he was in. Those workers tried their best to get the dog out of the situation, but it would have been impossible without severely hurting the animal.
Then one of them called Joanna Godlewska, a known animal rescuer in the area. When she arrived at the scene and could see the suffering little dog, she cried. Then, she went to work. She named the dog Farcik on the spot, mostly just to give him a name so she could talk to him and comfort him. She knew she had to work pretty quick because she could tell Farcik had already been there for quite a while. He wasn’t going to last a lot longer.
After surveying the situation, Joanna called the local fire department. When they arrived, a lot of dish soap was poured around the dog and rubbed it on his fur to loosen up the tar’s grip on him.
Farcik seemed to realize they were all there to help him, so he became calm and let them do their job.
Says Joanna: “He understood that we were saving him.” After working the soap into the dog’s fur for quite a while, Farcik finally was freed from the tar. He was immediately taken to the local veterinarian, who was able to clear the remaining tar off of his fur.
Joanna then took him home with her and nursed him back to health. When he gets a bit healthier, Joanna will try to find him a forever home, a family that will be sure to watch out for him and make sure he doesn’t walk into the wrong spots.
