This Guy Tried To Rescue A Beaver, Got A Surprise Instead

Hard At Work

A man was enjoying a walk along the creek until he saw a beaver in distress. But when he tried to save the animal he was amazed at what he pulled out.
Jim knew that they were working on borrowed time as he furiously struggled to free the trapped animal. But Jim had no idea what he had done. He and his team were trying to lift the beaver out of the mud trap and were hard at work. They had been for trying for hours and hours.
Looking closer, he stumbled backward and let out a yelp. Then he realized that this creature wasn’t a beaver at all. What has he done?

Idyllic Scenery

One day, a local of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Jim Passmore, would find something much more than he had ever bargained for. With its crystal blue lakes and rolling hills, this area was well-known for its beauty and incredible scenery. Stunning vistas were everyday sightings for these folks, and anyone who was lucky enough to call this place home considered themselves blessed.
Jim’s adventure all started while he was on a casual stroll with his dogs.

No Ordinary Walk

Jim regularly took his two dogs out for a walk to enjoy the surroundings of the beautiful area, and they always used the same path that ran along the banks of the creek. But one day Jim found something mysterious while they were on their walk. It soon became clear that this walk would prove to be like no other they had ever had before.
Rounding the bend of the creek, something strange immediately caught Jim’s eye.

The Dog’s Refuse

The dogs immediately began to growl as they approached, and Jim noticed the bizarre change in his animals’ behavior as they drew nearer to the mysterious mound. The strange object looked like some sort of cage. Jim started to walk towards it but his dogs, knowing that something was off, wouldn’t let him. The dogs then began to yelp and retreat. Jim knew that they weren’t going to make his investigation easy, so after rushing back home to drop the dogs off, he raced back to the spot in the creek.
As the area came into view, he swore that he had seen something that was indescribable.

The Mysterious Object

Following his intuition, he continued to approach the mystery object. The object was becoming more visible with each step, and now he could make out what it was. It was an animal cage, and it looked like it had been there for some time. Jim held his breath as he got close enough to peer inside. It looked like the kind of cage that you would transport animals in.
Looking closer, he could not suppress the chills that went up his spine.

Something Inside

Jim noticed a terrible smell coming from inside the cage, and when he looked closer, he saw why. Feces covered the ground of the enclosure and blanket, and there was a heavy chain. Someone did this. Someone chained something into this cage, but now, whatever it was, it was gone.
Jim examined the animal carrier and noticed weird marks. Even more strangely, there was an enormous bite out of the side.
Whatever this animal was, it appeared to be dangerous. Jim knew he had to leave. Just as he was about to move, he felt that he was being watched.

Being Watched

Jim’s heart thudded against his chest with an immense pressure and his hands started to sweat. There was something out there in the woods, he could feel it hiding. He started making loud noises to scare it away, but it wouldn’t leave. Jim was incredibly terrified to realize that It wasn’t afraid of him. Suddenly, the animal moved closer and emerged from the bushes. It was a beaver that had been watching him.
Jim made eye contact with the creature, and then it hurried away. That’s when Jim knew that something was up.

Leading The Way

Something told Jim to follow the beaver, even though he thought that the whole encounter was extremely odd. He became suspicious of everything around him. First, his dogs refused to approach the cage, and now he had received a strange signal to follow the beaver, which he did with trepidation.
Following a path, Jim soon realized that the creature appeared to want his help. But where was the animal leading him? And what did it want from him?

Something There

The beaver, finally reaching its destination, halted. Jim looked around taking everything in. He noticed that the woods and the ground were wet and had become soft under his feet. What was he doing there? And how long he had been following the critter for? — It seemed like the beaver knew where it was going. And then he saw it.
Just a few feet away from where he was standing, something was struggling.

Mud Trap

Noticing an odd mound in the dirt that seemed to be moving up ahead, Jim’s curiosity got the better of him. Just off the bank of the creek, a large creature seemed to be squirming. He ventured forward and quickly saw that the mound was actually an animal that had gotten stuck in the mud.
Jim didn’t hesitate — He knew he had to help the poor creature get out. But one concern kept creeping into Jim’s mind — he no idea what kind of animal he was dealing with.

Common In The Area

After he had spent a few minutes studying it, Jim realized that the creature, just like the one who had led him there, must be a giant beaver. Beavers were extremely common to this area. It all seemed like it made complete sense to Jim now! the poor creature, stuck in a mud trap, was unable to free itself.
Jim rallied a few friends together, and they all got to work to save the beaver. But the group had forgotten one very important detail about the creature.

A Vicious Bite

This beaver was no different from any other beaver — they are incredibly territorial and have even been known to attack humans. As the rescue party approached, the animal lashed out and managed to bite one of Jim’s friends, to everyone’s alarm. The man rushed to the hospital as there was a chance that the animal was carrying rabies. The remaining men remained to try to free the animal.
Jim came up with an ingenious plan to avoid another bite.

Jim’s Solution

Jim didn’t know how long the poor animal had been trapped for, and it obviously was feeling vulnerable and under a lot of stress. He decided that he had to cover the animal’s eyes, so he removed his jersey and wrapped it securely around the creature’s head. The beaver struggled at first, but then it started to calm down.
The men could now work faster around the beaver. But there was still one problem. No matter how hard they pushed, the animal wouldn’t budge.

A Difficult Situation

Jim and his team tried to dig around the beaver, but because it was half-submerged in the water, their efforts proved to be useless. They needed to devise a plan to somehow get underneath the animal and hoist it out.
Then, Jim realized exactly what they needed: a pulley system. So they got a rope, and Jim managed to tie it around the creature’s torso. They had hoped that this would work, surely? Then the team quickly realized that there was one enormous flaw in their strategy.

Encased In Mud

The beaver refused to budge and was well and truly stuck in the mud, no matter how hard the team pulled. Finally, after struggling for what seemed like days, they felt the animal start to move a little. Spurred on, they pulled with all their might in one last massive heave, and finally, the beaver was lifted to safety.
Jim, wiping the mud from its face, suddenly stumbled backward. This was no beaver!

Wiping Away The Dirt

As Jim wiped the mud away from the animal’s face, he stared in disbelief. There, underneath all the caked mud and dirt, was a quivering sheepdog. Instead of an aggressive beaver, they had been dealing with a frightened dog all along. Jim hesitated in amazement. He had gotten it all wrong! And the most surprising thing of all: the beaver that had led him there had known what the animal had been all along, but had still returned with help.
The dog was in an ok condition, despite having being stuck there for a while. This new information called for a different tack, as they couldn’t just release the dog into the wild as they would have with a beaver. Jim knew exactly what to do.

Rescue

Jim called the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals immediately, and they quickly took the dog into their care. But the dog was incredibly wary of people, and this presented a problem. The rescue organization would have to work long and hard to get him to trust humans again.
The dog was named Teddy, due to his big and cuddly appearance. But the local vet had some bad news about Teddy.

The Vet’s Diagnosis

The vet advised that Teddy was suffering from a huge weight issue –The poor pup was diagnosed with morbid obesity. This was probably what had caused him to get stuck and unable to free himself from the muddy embankment. Teddy’s weight was also putting immense strain on his joints, and he was not able to move easily.
Additionally, the vet had a suspicion that Teddy had been stuck in the creek for days, which caused him to have a mild case of PTSD. Nevertheless, there was hope yet.

Hope For Teddy

Teddy disliked most people, but there was one special woman whom he had allowed to come close to him. The receptionist at the animal shelter would visit Teddy daily, and she had clearly made a lasting impression on him. Then one day, she even allowed her to cuddle him without putting up a fuss.
This new behavior gave the shelter workers hope for Teddy as it showed that he was becoming more used to people. They then decided that it was time to do something for him.

Happy Ending

The shelter had decided that it was now time to start advertising Teddy as up for adoption. They were slightly skeptical as Teddy was thought to be eight years old — a senior dog who may have a hard time getting adopted. But people were undeterred by Teddy’s age, and the public flocked to meet him.
Ten months after his traumatic ordeal, Teddy found his forever home.