People and organizations involved in rescuing animals experience various situations every day that sometimes leave them speechless.
But when they see an abandoned dog that is so neglected that you cannot see where its head and its tail is, that is a completely different level.
A rescue organization found just such a dog on the streets of Lubbock, Texas, and they immediately knew that they had a tough job ahead of them.
However, they were determined to give this pup a new chance in life.
They Had Never Seen Anything Like It Before
One day, Tori Houston, a volunteer with the South Plains SPCA, got a call from her boss Kim Moyers. There was an abandoned dog found on the streets of Lubbock that needed their help.
“When I arrived, the condition of this dog was probably the worst I had ever seen any dog, ever; he had so much hair you didn’t know which was the front, which was the back. He was covered in goat heads. He stunk so bad,” Houston said for PEOPLE, “You couldn’t see any part of his body. He looked like a pile of sheep wool.”
President Kim Moyers said that his hair was about five years worth of matting and that it was a very unpleasant sight when they first saw him on the premises of the rescue organization.
“This dog is the worst case of dog neglect we have ever encountered. We have tried to clean it up some today but the hair is extremely matted and thick and we are unable to do anything at this time. The dog has rotten skin spots, hair matted to the skin so bad it is ingrown into the skin, the nails are 2 inches long. There are thousands of goat head stickers throughout the mats and stuck inside the skin.” SPCA posted on their official Facebook page the next day.
They also added that there was a leash embedded throughout the hair and that led to the collar fused to the neck, which is very rarely seen.
It was simply unbelievable how this 6-year-old dog could survive in such a terrible condition. And it was very sad that no one noticed him and tried to help him in some way.
Fortunately, the right people were found in the right place and this dog was finally able to start living the life he deserves.
A Beautiful Boy Was Hiding Underneath
The People from the SPCA asked everyone who was able to donate as much as they could as the comprehensive treatment was very expensive.
Many people were touched by the story of Matt, as they symbolically called him. Relatively quickly, enough money was collected for his recovery.
They soon brought Matt to Ark Hospital for Pets for treatment and an extensive grooming session from Kayla’s Grooming Service.
At the Grooming Service, Kayla Thurmon who was also their volunteer, removed almost three pounds of fur from the 14-pound dog. That is a hell of a lot of fur!
However, apart from the fact that this procedure gave them better insight into his health, they were finally able to see the beautiful boy who had been hiding under that fur for a while.
“After we had one of our professional groomers — who’s also an SPCA foster — groom him, he looked amazing,” Houston said and added. “He is the most gorgeous-looking dog I’ve ever seen. He’s just drop-dead gorgeous.”
As for his health, they discovered he was anemic so he had to be on iron pills. Aside from that, he also had an eye infection which had to be treated.
“I’m sure that’s because he wasn’t able to see with all the dust and grime that was embedded in his fur,” Houston said.
Regardless of all the challenges, especially the health problems, Houston could not resist that cute face and decided to be his foster mom for the next few months until he was ready to be adopted.
He Finally Got The People He Deserved
Not long after she took him into foster care, Tori posted on her Facebook profile that Matt was doing very well.
“This morning and this evening we went walking around the park. He just loves to go walking. He barked at a few people, cars driving by, and other dogs. He hates taking his Iron, and eye meds, but what he doesn’t know this is actually helping him to be the best dog he can.” she wrote.
Little by little, Matt improved more and more every day, both physically and health-wise, as well as emotionally. Life without the three-pound burden was much easier to live so it’s no wonder why this dog recovered so quickly.
So, after only a month and a half, the SPCA announced on Facebook that Matt was ready for a new page in his life.
“Making his Long Awaited Adoption Debut – It’s MATT!!,” they wrote and added all the important information about this beautiful doggo.
Although people did not immediately recognize all his potential, that moment happened relatively quickly – the happiest in his life!
The SPCA posted on their Facebook page that, among other dogs, Matt was adopted that month too.
For Matt, everything finally fell into place – he wasn’t matted anymore and his health completely returned to normal.
He also found a new family that he deserved, and his fur grew back, but this time, just as much as needed to look perfect on him.
