Dog Who Hid In Oven To Escape Greek Wildfires Gets Adopted

A dog survived the deadly wildfires in Greece by hiding in an outside oven as flames devastated the town of Mati.

The poodle-mix, was found by animal rescue volunteer Artemis Kyriakopoulou as she scoured the village looking for surviving animals last week.

The white poodle mix’s fur was singed yellow and he was covered in soot.

Artemis Kyriakopoulou told The Associated Press that she was searching the town two days after a fast-moving blaze killed around 90 people, when she happened upon the outdoor brick oven and looked inside.

She took video of her trying to coax the scared dog out of the oven with food and water.

The dog now named Loukoumakis (which is a type of sweet) was taken to a nearby animal shelter. Artemis explains that rescuers were all devastated by the scale of the disaster, but finding Loukoumakis has given them a renewed sense of hope.

Fellow volunteer Diana Topali said that Loukoumakis was traumatized when he first arrived at the shelter.

“He was (in shock). And with every movement, he reacted by growling, by biting. I offered him food and he would bite my hand …He slept for endless hours. Then he was given a treat. We found what he liked to eat, so then we became friends,” she told Reuters TV.

Although Artemis speculated the dog lost his owner to the blaze, but but Elena Dede, president and founder of Dogs’ Voice, told ABC News it’s clear that the dog was a stray long before he survived the wildfires.

“When he came to us, he was a little bit aggressive because he was very afraid of people,” she told ABC. “From the way he protected himself and the state of his health, we realized he has spent a long time being severely abused. There were three layers of dead fur on him, which could not have happened in just the week since the fire.”

Loukoumakis is believed to be about four years old and has been treated with antibiotics. He’s expected to make a full recovery. He’s also found a forever home.

Despite his feral nature, Loukoumakis has been adopted by a seasoned rescuer who has worked with other stray dogs in the past.

As for Loukoumakis’ original rescuer, Artemis says she’s going to head back to Mati “to look for more animals that might have survived.”