After receiving information about a pup who had been lost in the woods alone, a team of rescuers at Stray Rescue of St. Louis packed up their gear and headed to the location. 

Knowing how cold and scary the woods can get, they made sure to be very fast and bring along some yummy food for the starving pup. 

Since the forest was quite large, it took the St. Louis team quite some time to search the entire location. After a couple of hours, they had no luck. As they were about to head home, they saw a little gray ball cuddled up in the dried leaves. 

You Are Safe Now, Sweet Boy 

The rescuers immediately knew that that was the reason they came here in the first place. 

When the pup saw the team, he got a bit startled. All those unfamiliar faces made him really scared as he had no idea their intention. 

Luckily, one of the rescuers pulled out a yummy treat, slowly approached him, and gave it to the pup. The second he smelled the food, he immediately ate it, finally filling up his hungry stomach. 

This helped the pup gather up all his courage to stand up and follow the kind people who came to rescue him. The second he got up, however, a rescuer noticed that he had a wound on the side of his leg. 

Apart from that, the pup was so skinny that his bones were visible through his skin. 

But, there was another issue they faced – if the team didn’t head home immediately, the night would fall, and it would be much more difficult for them to get back. 

A Little Problem 

As they began heading home, they ran into a small problem. The pup was too afraid to leave the woods. 

In order to help him fight his fears, one of the rescuers picked him up and carried him to a path. There, the pup was able to walk on his own, but then they had a different problem – their car was parked a mile away. 

Because he was so exhausted, the pup wasn’t able to walk for very long. But, not to worry – the rescuers were there to help. They happily carried him the entire way!

Even though the sun set, they managed to get to the car before it was pitch black out. 

Now, all that was left to do was drive him to the clinic for a much-needed medical examination. The pup, now named Matlock, was finally safe. 

“He had the best night’s sleep he’s had in a very. Long. Time. He is not out of the woods, and he’ll have to fight for his life. His body weight is at a very dangerous level, especially for the size of the dog he is. But he’s in the right place. He’s very sweet and very safe. You got this, buddy,” the rescue wrote on their Facebook page. 

Finally, this incredible pup was able to receive all the love and adoration he deserved all along. 

But his recovery journey had just begun. His medical test determined that his wound was actually a tumor that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. If you would like to keep up with this sweet boy and donate to his recovery, feel free to go to his page.