Stuckie: The dog that was mummified inside a tree

A group of loggers from The Georgia Kraft Corp encountered something totally strange when cutting the top of a chestnut oak.

At the moment of cutting the tree to load it they saw a mummified hunting dog, "watching" the exit, for 20 years. What remains is a mummified dog, dry and petrified in a sad and eternal struggle to escape.

It is estimated that, approximately, in the year 1960 the dog, possibly chasing a prey, entered through a hole in the tree. However, by reducing the space, the dog was trapped. He never caught his prey, no one ever took him out and remained motionless in his trap until he died, reports Bertha Sue Dixon, who runs a museum called Southern Forest World.

It took 20 years for the loggers to find the mummified body of the unfortunate dog. They decided to donate the find to the Southern Forest World. Since then, «Stuckie», as you have called the dog, has been the attraction of the place. Spectators can see the hound through the glass in the tree where he is still looking for the freedom that will never come.

How was it mummified in that tree trunk?

According to the biological anthropologist at the University of West Florida, Kristina Killgrove, the wooden "tomb" would have contributed to the process of mummification.

When a person or an animal dies, the microbes in the body go out of control and begin to reproduce, since the biological processes that kept them at bay no longer exist. Then, the microorganisms in the intestine begin the process of putrefaction.

However, this did not happen to Stuckie inside his brown oak coffin. This is because chestnut oaks contain tannin, which is used to tan animal skins and prevent decomposition. Tannin is a natural "desiccant" or material that absorbs moisture and dries its surroundings.

We must also consider the low environment in this area, which helped stop the microbial activity.

Something else that helped prevent decomposition was the position and shape of the tree, and because of this the air could blow upward, allowing the dog to remain as it was. This continuous passage of air, like a "chimney effect" also made it difficult for scavengers to detect the odor generated.

This is how Stuckie will remain for posterity, witnessing the passage of time, after his slow agony.