Workers at the KC Pet Project in Kansas City, Missouri, have seen some of the worst cases of animal abuse and neglect imaginable, but even these pros were taken aback when they first saw Simon.
On Facebook, the rescue said Simon the 11-year-old shih tzu was “one of the worst matted case we’ve ever seen.” He weighed over 20 pounds when he was brought in, and by the time they removed the mats, he was almost 7 pounds lighter.
It took a team of vets over two hours to take off years of dirty, matted hair.
“We never know the condition that they’ll be in once they are shaved, and surprisingly, his skin is in fairly good shape,” they wrote on Facebook. “He is skinny, he was covered in fleas, and will need to have dental surgery soon, but he’s now receiving great medical care from our team and will start the healing process.”
After Simon was shaved he was finally able to eat and move normally after years of being weighed down by his hair.
“All of that hair matted down on him, it’s hard to regulate your body temperature, it’s hard to do anything, hard to eat or go to the bathroom,” one of his vets said. “We have no idea how he did it, and so this little guy is a survivor and really beat all of the odds to get to the point where he is today.”
Simon was only in the shelter for about a week before the perfect family stepped up to adopt him. His new home already had three shih tzus, all of whom have X-Men names. The rescued pup was timid and scared when he first went home, but with lots of love and affection, he finally began to come out of his shell.
“He is now named Logan,” his vet said. “They are big X-Men fans so he is named after Wolverine. He lives with two sisters and he gets along very, very well with them.”
Simon, now Logan, gets regular medicated baths to make sure his skin and fur stay healthy. “Our little guy is such a sweetheart,” his new parents said. “We both knew as soon as we saw that video that he belongs with us. And the second we laid eyes on him in person, we were both all in.”
The shelter reports that Logan is now “very loved” and “very spoiled.” We’re so glad this good boy got the happy ending he deserves!
Watch the video below to see the vets tackling some of the worst hair mats they’ve encountered, and don’t forget to share this story.
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