Bear, a stray Cane Corso that had been roaming around Alabama’s Gulf Coast for almost a year with a large box stuck on his head was recently caught and freed from his plastic trap.

Bear’s story first made news headlines in January of this year, when it was covered by CBS affiliate, WKRG, following multiple reports of a large canine walking around Mobile with a large, black box on its head. One person told the outlet that his son had seen the dog a couple of months earlier, but they only believed the account after seeing the animal themselves. The story of this unfortunate animal caught the public’s attention and WKRG followed it up with another report, this time featuring the City of Mobile Animal Services (COMAS). The dog had gotten its head stuck in the metal box many months before, but all attempts to capture and free it had failed.

“The best word for that dog is he’s a ninja,” COMAS director Robert Bryant said, adding that his staff had tried net guns, traps, and tranquilizers to free the large dog from his plastic trap, but nothing worked. The scared animal would just run off whenever they tried to catch him, and a regular leash stick didn’t work because of the large box.

Fortunately for Bear, his plastic trap, which seemed to resemble the plastic top of a trash can, had narrow openings that allowed the dog to eat and drink throughout his long ordeal, but walking around with that thing on its head couldn’t have been very comfortable.

Finally, on Feb. 21, a rescue team used barricades to corral the dog into a small area, and volunteer Martin Miller was brave enough to approach it and yank the metal box off. Still, the scared dog ran away from his captors, but because he no longer had his “helmet”, COMAS was able to trap him in a standard box trap.

News of the box dog’s rescue made national headlines last month, but the Cane Corso, named ‘Bear’ by his rescuers, still needed a home. With his growing fame, finding someone to adopt him wouldn’t have been too difficult, but on February 26, Martin Miller, the man who rescued Bear from his plastic head trap, announced that he would be adopting the Cane Corso himself. The adorable pooch has since become an ambassador for the City of Mobile Animal Services.

 

He officially came home today after his stray hold ended. This has got to be one of my favorite glow-ups yet  , he follows me EVERYWHERE,” Miller wrote on Facebook, adding that Bear is now undergoing heartworm treatment.