When Protect Animals Worldwide got a call about a dog who had fallen into an open tar pit at a construction site, they rushed there as quickly as they could. When they arrived, they found a pup covered in tar, struggling to breathe from the weight of it all. Looking at him, they had no idea whether he would make it.

“They had no signs up, no warning, and people had told us that this wasn’t the first time this had happened,” Luana of Protect Animals Worldwide told The Dodo.

The tar was covering the dog’s face, including his nostrils and eyes. He had no idea what was going on, and his poor body was shutting down.

“It was everywhere,” Luana said. “Our hearts were breaking.”

The team rushed the pup, later named Luciano, to the groomers, and with a veterinarian by their side, they began the tedious process of removing the tar from his body. They had to stop the process at one point to give Luciano medical care before continuing.

“In all of Protect Animals Worldwide’s rescues, we had never seen anything like this before,” Luana said.

Overall, it took 72 hours to finally get all the tar off. Once it was gone, Luciano looked like a completely different dog.

Once he was free he was hesitant and hungry, still confused about what was happening. As he began to heal, though, he started to relax, and his true personality could shine through.

Four months after his harrowing rescue, Luciano was adopted by a loving family, who wanted nothing more than to give him his well-deserved happy ending.

“This family really wanted to open their hearts to him, and they did,” Luana said.

Luciano is so happy now and thriving in his new home, and he’s never looking back.