This logger and his team typically get enough logs to get them to their quota on any day. However, a shocking sight while warming up the saws brought everything to a halt.
This logger team was from Georgia Kraft Co., and things were flowing as usual until a saw made contact with a particular tree. There was no explanation for what they experienced at the time.
Loggers tend to get a lot of negative press since they’re known for cutting down beautiful trees. Jasper City in Georgia is an exception, however, since almost every family has some link to the logging industry.
Jasper City lays in proximity to a set of mountains that are surrounded by American Chestnut trees. Therefore, loggers have a lucrative source of income. The trees are unique enough, but there was another surprise coming.
In 1980, a set of Georgia Kraft Co. workers got to their worksite, and they immediately got their hands dirty. Things seemed familiar enough up to lunchtime. When they resumed their typical activities, one tree stuck out.
The team had gotten through most of the trees for the day, and only a few were left. One was hollow and looked easy enough to take down, but it had a secret.
With the tree trunk on its side, the team wanted to cut it up for transportation reasons. However, they noticed that sunlight wasn’t passing through it. Therefore, either the pathway was blocked, or the tree wasn’t hollow.
From a distance, the tree trunk appeared to have a dark hole inside it. While it also seemed to be a stem growing in a tree, there was a weird look present.
The loggers had two dilemmas on their hands. The first was that they couldn’t figure out what the strange blockage was. Additionally, no one was volunteering to go inside to find out.
One of the loggers volunteered himself, as it seemed like no one else would go in. He proceeded to start pushing his body inside to observe things better. Suddenly, he shrieked and jumped away.
The team curiously wondered what could’ve caused such a reaction. Everyone wanted to know what he saw. As soon as he caught his breath, he told them that he saw a beast, which no one believed.
Some of the other loggers decided to look too, and everyone came out just as puzzled as the first team member. Nobody could figure out what it was or what it was doing in the tree.
The loggers realized that they wouldn’t be able to use the tree, but they knew the find was valuable. Therefore, they called in their manager, but he told them to keep working.
The thing in the tree looked like a monster that was gearing up to jump at someone. It was some kind of living animal, though it clearly wasn’t alive anymore when the team unexpectedly discovered it.
Based on the creature’s position, it seemed like it was moving forward when it got frozen in its current state. Everyone guessed what may have happened, but the teeth gave the apparent answer away.
The features, which included paws, sharp teeth, and a long snout, told everyone that the creature was a dog. Of course, the team felt slightly uncomfortable to know this was once a live dog.
The theories came in from every angle, and some established that the dog was mummified. Who would be practicing mummification in Georgia? Another speculation is that the dog died while obeying a freeze command.
The loggers continued to wonder what led to the dog ending up in the tree. However, they had a job to do, and they had to shift their focus back to it.
The loggers knew the uncut trunk would negatively affect profits, but they decided to bear the cost. They figured that the log’s state made it valuable, which was a better choice than they realized.
Once they were finished working for the day, they took the log to a place they figured would help them to get all the answers they wanted. They couldn’t even begin to imagine the mystery story.
The loggers took the item to scientists who could analyze it effectively, but it took over a year for them to get the answers that they desired. The reveal was a sad one.
There’s a Georgia-based museum known as The Southern Forest World. The exhibits are based on wood production, and it’s where the tree trunk and the mystery pooch ended up after being donated.
The museum wasn’t yet operational when the exhibit was donated. However, the operators needed the dog’s backstory. That’s where biological anthropologist Kristina Killgrove came into the picture. She intended to fill in the story’s missing pieces.
After thoroughly examining the dog, Kristina managed to come up with the correct answers. Though she initially considered the possibility of mummification, she soon concluded that the practical likelihood of that occurrence was non-existent.
Kristina started her explanation with the basics. She went through how tissue decay works and how microbes proceed to eat tissue soon after it dies. She explained that they grow, reproduce, and take over.
Chestnut trees have organic substances that are conducive to moisture absorption. That property prevented microbes from eating the tissue, which meant that the dog’s body stuck around for way longer than the expected time.
The lack of microbes meant that there was no smell to tell scavengers the animal’s position. Even if there were a weaker than usual scent, it would go upwards through the trunk. One question still remained.
Southern Forest World director Bertha Sue concluded that the dog was a hunting one. Apparently, it tried to chase a squirrel or raccoon, and followed deep into the tree trunk. Eventually, the dog got stuck there.
The dog seemed intent on getting whatever it was chasing, as it went 28 feet high. On top of the lack of smell, the oak’s tannic acid contributed to the dog’s skin hardening.
The mystery dog had no name before 2002, but it was very popular and sat among some of the most highly regarded tree species. In an exciting turn of events, the dog now appears on promotional materials.
Over the years, people referred to the animal as the mummified dog. Eventually, it got the name Stuckie, after the name won a naming contest. The name was technically sad, but things were still yet to get gloomy.
Southern Forest World manager Brandy Stevenson got numerous queries about how the dog got stuck from interested people. The response always pointed to its chasing a raccoon, which always made people feel sorry for the animal.
People feel differently about what the museum should do with the dog. While many persons have no apparent issue, others are adamant that the dog needs to be buried properly, rather than being kept on display.
Stuckie stayed inside the tree for so many years, and his body remained in one piece. Stucky was always the main museum attraction, so getting rid of him is not even in the cards.
Regardless of your feelings towards the dog, the museum owners won’t be letting him go. If you want to see the animal, feel free to journey to the Southern Forest World in Waycross, Georgia.
Stuckie isn’t the first hunting dog in the world, as old as he is. Based on documented history, hunting dogs have been around for somewhere between 12,000 and 20,000 years. It was very common to breed special dogs.
If you want to train your hunting dog as best as possible, it’s advisable to begin the conditioning from the puppy stage. You don’t want the dog to get bast eight weeks old before the training starts.
If you want your dog to respond well to your commands, you have to condition it to know what is acceptable behavior. Use a reward system to reward it for good behavior positively, so it makes the right association.
Not all hunting dogs do the same thing, so it’s best to choose your partner based on the objectives you have. Terriers, gundogs, and hounds are the main types you can choose from.
Dogs have heightened senses in general, but hunting dogs are on another level. Once you’ve trained one of them properly, you are likely to feel the difference in your hunting experience.
