When an 11-year-old Shih Tzu arrived at a dog shelter in Missouri's Kansas City, he appeared sick and struggled to walk. The veterinary team at KC Pet Project said that he was one of the "worst matted cases" they had ever seen. The dog shelter has shared a video in which the brown-coloured dog, who arrived as a stray and has now been named Simon, looked to be in terrible shape, tired and sick. The team then worked on him for over two hours, shaving every single piece of matted hair off his small body. The KC Pet Project said one could only imagine how long it took for the dog to be in the condition he was.
In the video, two members were seen using trimmers, painstakingly getting rid of extra hair from the dog's body. Later, a tiny Simon, with his body cleaned, wrapped in a towel, looked adorable.
“When Simon first came in and before we shaved him, he weighed nearly 20 pounds (9 kg). We removed nearly 7 pounds (3.1 kg) of heavy, matted hair,” the dog shelter said, adding, in such cases, they never know what the condition of the skin would be like before shaving.
Surprisingly, though, in Simon's case, his skin was found to be in good shape as was seen in the video too. The vets at the Kansas Pet Project said that the dog was covered in fleas when he arrived and will undergo dental surgery soon. However, at the dog shelter, he is now receiving great medical care from the team and will start the healing process.
Watch the video of the dog's transformation here:
Instagram users praised the dog shelter team for their work and for having saved Simon's life.
"Oh. My. Heart. You guys are beyond amazing. My eyes are filled with tears of happiness for Simon. Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for loving Simon," wrote kt_aka_kathleen.
Another user, the_gavino, said: "Oh honey. That's sad. How warm and uncomfortable is all that hair? KCPP-you do great work. Keep it up."
"I'm sitting at my desk at work & am crying like a baby for this poor dog. I can't wait to get home & hug my fur babies. They are my security blanket. They always make me feel better. Bless your team for taking care of these babies," wrote spillman9729.
"Thank God he made his way to you!!! And thank all of you for the compassion, care and love you provide the pets!" said dadanddaughter5k.
Tori Fugate, chief communications officer at KC Pet Project, was quoted as saying by kshb.com, “Thanks to medicine and love and care, they're able to make this remarkable transformation.”
The report further stated that Simon was neutered, which means he was someone's pet at some point. The dog, however, isn't microchipped and carried no tags.
The shelter said it's trying to look for its owner. But that's not all. The KC Pet Project has already received numerous requests for the dog's adoption as well.
