Brilliant Dog Miraculously Survived Devastating Fire in Greece by Hiding in an Oven

When you are trying to escape a fire, the last place you would probably think to seek shelter in is the interior of a sweltering oven.

During the recent forest fires that are devastating parts of Greece, a quick thinking dog in Mati, a popular tourist town to the east of Athens, took refuge in an outdoor oven. As dozens of other animals in the area perished in the unforgiving flames, this four-year-old white poodle mix, who has since been named Loukoumakis by a vet who treated his injuries, hid in this tiny space waiting for the fires to pass. The house the oven was a part of had long burned to the ground with the heat of the blaze, but this small structure amazingly remained intact.

Volunteer rescuer Artemis Kyriakopoulou, part of the crew that went in after the fires to see if there were any animals to rescue, found Loukoumakis cowering in the brick oven. He was singed yellow, covered in ash, and even his eyelashes were burned. Kyriakopoulou said, “I wonder how this dog survived … he just looked like a burned, shaggy rug.”

You can see footage and photos of this sweet pup on Kyriakopoulou’s Facebook page here.

Kyriakopoulou managed to coax poor Loukoumakis out of the oven with a tin of food and a bowl of water — he hadn’t eaten or drank anything in days! The poor little boy was understandably terrified, and with the amount of smoke he must have inhaled in the time he was hiding in the oven, was having difficulty breathing. But even with the food and water on offer, his first instinct was to run to his rescuers with a wagging tail to say thank you. How desperate he must have been to see a friendly face!

Loukoumakis has now been groomed and put on a full course of antibiotics, and he is currently staying with a foster family. The hope is now that this adorable little stray will make a full recovery and find himself a new home. Loukoumakis is not the first dog to be rescued by volunteers following a natural disaster, and with the current changes to our climate, we are sure he won’t be the last. We need to keep animals in our thoughts when we prepare for these events, so we can meet more dogs like Loukoumakis to share their stories!

Image Source: Jordan Rubin/Unsplash