The Los Angeles area animal rescue organization Hope for Paws got a call about a badly neglected poodle. The team that went to investigate got a lot more fur than they bargained for. The poor dog’s matted fur had grown out so much they couldn’t even tell what gender it was. One rescuer told the dog, “You’re a mess. You’re a messy mess.” He also said that the state the poodle’s fur was “close to the craziest I’ve ever seen.”
You might not know it, but poodles are the second most intelligent breed of dog, behind only the intellectually supercharged border collie. They were originally bred to be retrievers, helping people hunt duck and other fowl and therefore have fast reflexes and good spatial reasoning. Smart though poodles are, they do need help with their fur, which can grow like you wouldn’t believe.
This particular poodle, who the rescuers named Dolly, was initially frightened of the people who were trying to rescue her. But she soon came to see that they were there to help and she calmed down, allowing them to give her a pat on the head. Once a rescuer got their “lucky leash” on her, the animal control loop could come off. By the time they got her to the car, she was already happier and had begun wagging her tail! It took the dog groomer a couple of hours to deal with Dolly’s matted and outrageously overgrown fur — that’s how badly neglected she’d been. After grooming and a bath, Dolly looked a lot better and was feeling a lot better, too. Such is the power of a little tender loving care!
We’ve posted a video below of Dolly’s dramatic rescue and incredible transformation, both physical and psychological. The best news of all is that it didn’t take long for them to find her a perfect forever home.
How did you like what Hope for Paws was able to do for this poodle? Let’s hear from you in the Facebook comments and don’t forget to like and share!
