So, how did the dog end up high up inside the tree?

Southern Forest World’s director, Bertha Sue Dixon, explained that the dog could have been in the area chasing after something and followed it inside the tree. She further said that it was possible that the dog could have accidentally got itself stuck inside the narrow space, never able to see the light of day again. Experts estimated that the dog had been there for nearly 20 years, being stuck in the tree since 1960, and as the tree grew through the years taking the carcass almost 30 feet high above the ground.