City of Athens employees helped rescue an owl last week that got into the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s sludge lagoon.

Virgil White, the treatment plant superintendent, said Athens Utilities’ employee Allen Hill found the owl covered in what looked to be dried sludge. Employees T.J. Dendy and Jonathan Humphries caught the owl and washed away the sludge, which was encrusted on the owl’s feathers.

The employees could not find obvious injuries and called wildlife officials, then sent the officials a picture. The wildlife expert instructed them to place the owl in a wooded area and check periodically to see if it was still there.

“The wildlife expert said these type owls are very resilient, and would just dry off and get back to life as usual if uninjured,” White said.

The owl was mostly dry when employees placed it in the woods, and later it was gone.

“It is good to see these guys take a few minutes to help an animal that had obviously gotten into a jam,” White said.