Animal hospital finds ball of mud was 'barely recognizable' hedgehog

Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A British animal hospital shared a photo of a ball of mud that turned out to be a hedgehog rolled through the clay by a curious dog.

The Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital in Chichester, England, said the seemingly innocuous ball of clay was brought in by a pet owner who caught their dog rolling the smaller animal around in the mud and wet clay.

"He was barely recognizable when he came in but we could see he was just about breathing (goodness knows how)," the hospital said in a Facebook post.

Clinic staff said the hedgehog is recovering nicely.

"After having a couple of washes and a once over he his now doing well and will hopefully continue to make a full recovery," staff member Asha Park told the Crawley Observer.