Dog groomer Kari Falla knows just how much suffering a severely matted dog experiences, so when she saw photos of a desperate stray on a Facebook page for lost pets, she immediately volunteered to help.
A woman had discovered the dog on the side of the road and saved him from being hit by a car. Although it was midnight, Falla opened up her Oviedo, Florida shop, BGE Grooming to tend to the neglected pup.
Rather than placing him in a cage overnight, the devoted animal lover immediately went to work freeing him from his filthy prison of matted hair despite the late hour.
“They arrived at my shop at midnight and it took three hours to groom him. A normal groom only takes an hour-and-a-half,” Falla told Inside Edition. “When a dog is matted that badly, it can cause its blood flow to stop as well as bruising to the dog.”
Shaving the dog – who Falla named Lucky – was akin to an emergency medical procedure. The matting was terribly painful and so severe that Lucky was unable to go to the bathroom. He was also infested with fleas.
“I could tell he’d been that way for a few years from the pictures. You could tell it was extreme neglect,” Falla said. “I knew it was bad, but nothing prepared me for what I saw. It smelled like death and the dog could not walk. They had to carry it.”
Despite his extreme discomfort, Falla says Lucky behaved like an angel while she bathed him and shaved away the matts.
“The dog was perfect for me when I was grooming him. It’s like he knew I was helping him,” Falla said. “Once we shaved him, he was wagging his tail and was so happy. I knew I did the right thing.”
The next day Lucky was taken to see a vet who determined that he is only about four years old. They also confirmed Falla’s suspicion that Lucky is deaf and blind. He has since been neutered and placed with a foster family. Area officials are searching for his previous owners.
Although Falla is a seasoned groomer, she describes Lucky’s case as the worst she has ever seen.
If not for her caring heart, who knows how long it would have been before Lucky received the attention he so desperately needed. Let’s show this wonderful groomer some love in the comments!
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