UPDATE, Feb. 25: McGregor the dog has gone to Woof River Animal Rescue and will be available for adoption once they’ve addressed his medical needs.
*****
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A local pup has Memphis Animal Services to thank for his newfound life after officers rescued him from deep inside a processing pit at a meat plant.
MAS isn’t sure how the dog ended up at the bottom of the pit, but the incredible rescue was posted in a video to theirsocial media.
MAS got the call of a dog stuck about 12 feet down inside a meat processing pit Wednesday, and they said officers were on the scene at the plant near East Brooks Road and South Third Street in less than 30 minutes.
Officers said the 68-pound dog, now named McGregor, was completely out of energy by the time they arrived.
“He was just, he was done. He had given up at that point,” MAS officer Amanda Sutter said. “We were his only chance to get him out.”
They said they’re unsure how long McGregor was inside the pit before he was noticed by staff at the plant, but with how tired he was, he was likely trying to put himself out of the pit for a while.
McGregor could no longer help pull himself out, so an officer had to go down into the grimy, slimy meat processing pit. Only McGregor’s head and back legs were accessible for the officer.
The MAS officer was able to attach two 6-foot animal control poles together and then around the dog’s neck.
With one hand on the ladder holding the officer and one hand on the poles attached to McGregor, the officer pulled the dog part of the way out of the pit, just enough for another officer to pull the rest of the way.
Once out of the meat pit, McGregor was covered in towels and put into the MAS truck.
“I knew he was exhausted, and I knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it out of there, so that’s when I started calling for some help,” said Tom Breen, who contacted MAS about the dog. “They did a fantastic job, and they know their stuff, that’s for sure. They were brave to get down into that nasty pit.”
McGregor now is a MAS and resting comfortably.
“We decided to name him McGregor after one of the most famous fighters we could think of at the time because he’s a fighter, and he deserves an honorable name,” Sutter said.
Anyone who would like to see, and maybe adopt, McGregor can come to MAS’s normal adoption hours daily from noon to 4 p.m. and to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Adoption fees are $40.
