Texas dog survives 7 days with his head stuck in a cheese puff jar before rescuers free him

A stray dog named Oreo spent seven days in the Texas wilderness with a cheese puff jar covering his head, leaving him unable to get food or water.

Here's what to know

Saving Oreo took a week of searching. According to The Dodo, the effort included multiple rescuers from Jack Jack's Pack, as well as help from a drone operator and eventually a paid professional darter, who sedated Oreo so the team could remove the container.

"When they finally got the jar off, his entire head was green," the video's caption said, with algae forming around his neck. After that, Oreo was brought to safety, but rescuers still needed to find him a foster home quickly.

Meredith, his foster mom, said she found Oreo's story while "doom scrolling" and realized that "nobody was volunteering." 

"There has to be some place for the dogs to go," she said.

One commenter wrote, "7 days? Golly, I'm glad he got rescued." 

More background

The Dodo reported that Oreo had grown up on the streets around Austin and spent his life avoiding people, which helps explain why rescuers had such a hard time catching him.

Getting the jar off was only the start. Meredith then spent seven months helping Oreo adjust to indoor life for the first time. 

"He was still figuring out what a house was," she said. "Like, he'd never been inside before."

Since confined spaces were Oreo's biggest trigger, settling into a home was a slow process. Meredith said a major breakthrough came the first time, "He jumped up on the couch with me."

The dramatic rescue saved his life, but the months that followed demanded patience as Oreo learned that everyday routines, human contact, and even a car ride did not have to signal danger.

What's being done?

Jack Jack's Pack and Meredith turned Oreo's rescue into a careful rehabilitation effort centered on patience rather than force. 

"I don't push any foster dogs," Meredith said. "It's all on their time." 

Rather than forcing interaction, Meredith let Oreo decide how quickly to engage with life inside her home. Over time, enclosed spaces became less frightening to him, and even car rides started to feel different.

What had once been something he feared eventually became something he enjoyed because those drives meant hiking. He gradually began connecting people and routine with positive experiences instead of fear.

Jack Jack's Pack made Oreo available for adoption, and Meredith was clear about the kind of placement that would suit him best. 

"His home would be someplace without kids," she noted. "He's fun. He's easy-going. He's very loyal. He's non-reactive to dogs when we go on walks."

Where can I learn more?

Like Oreo's rescue, other dogs have survived in dangerous places before determined teams could reach them. 

• In Chattanooga, Tennessee, workers at Goodwill heard cries before crews freed a dog from a drain pipe.

• In Louisa County, Virginia, rescuers skipped digging and coaxed a dog from a culvert pipe.

• In Indianapolis, rescuers heard yelping underground and pulled a pit bull puppy from a drain.

• After a week missing, a dog near Mount Gambier, South Australia, was pulled from a crater cliff.

• In Illinois, a thermal drone helped rescuers find a husky stranded in a marsh after days alone.

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