A wildlife center helped an owl recover after it was found in terrible condition. Last month, the Raven Ridge Animal Center in Pennsylvania announced that they had taken in a Great Horned Owl rescued from a manure pit.

The owl had been stuck for at least two days, covered in layers of manure, and was very weak and dehydrated. It took multiple showers to clean him up.

Wildlife rehabilitator Tracie Young told The Dodo, “I knew it was going to be a long night,” noting that the owl was “subdued” from the trauma. “He was worn out from his struggles.” The owl’s right eye was filled with blood, showing severe eye injuries.

The rescuers found out the bird had been illegally shot with a BB gun when they discovered a steel BB in its eye.

“We had to wait for the blood in the eye to be absorbed by the body to see if there was any permanent damage,” Young told People. Over the next few days, the body began to absorb the blood in the eye.

The owl needed multiple washes, tube feeding, and fluids. The rescuers affectionately called him “Stinky” because he was found in a manure pit. Despite the tough recovery, the owl stayed remarkably strong.

As the rescuers monitored the eye injury, they found a miracle: the owl survived without any permanent damage to its eyes or loss of vision. “I was taken aback by the outcome,” Young told The Dodo. “I didn’t think it would survive.”

After his amazing recovery, the rescuers started calling him “Lucky” instead of “Stinky.” Within weeks, Lucky’s eye returned to normal, and he looked like a completely different owl. The wildlife center plans to release him back into the wild in the autumn.