Thanks to the generosity of volunteers, a family of eight stray puppies in Tirur, south-west India, were rescued after becoming engulfed in toxic tar. A barrel of tar had toppled over a family of dogs, and the puppies were battling to breathe after being trapped in the toxic tar for eight hours.

The puppies were discovered smeared in thick black tar from head to tail in the streets of Tirur, India’s Kerala state. It is also thought that the tar barrel collapsed on top of them while they were sleeping, making escape impossible.

The puppy was in terrible shape.

Looking at the sad puppies in the sticky mess, a local animal lover named Mr. Jaleel contacted Humane Society International India animal rescuers. The team spends hours cleaning each and every little puppy with vegetable oil in order to remove the tar.

The team is having difficulty cleaning the puppies.

“This was such an incredible community effort because there is no doubt that these puppies would have died if the locals had not come to their aid.” “These tiny puppies had been trapped in the tar for many hours and were exhausted as well as overwhelmed by the noxious fumes,” Humane Society International India’s Sally Varma said.

They used vegetable oil to scrub the puppies of the black toxic tar.

After hours in the toxic tar, the puppy appeared exhausted.

“They had tar covering their eyes, noses, and mouths, and they would have died if it hadn’t been for these kind people.” The tar was removed by HSI’s animal protection officers who refused to give up. It was exciting to watch these adorable puppies resurrect and suckle from their mother after their tragedy.”

After the cleaning, we can now see their own coat.

The puppies were eventually cleaned up and reunited with their mother thanks to the team’s perseverance and work.

The puppies will be vaccinated in two weeks and will be returned to Tirur after being sterilised by the HSI team.

We’re relieved they’re all safe now!