A poor little dog seized by the RSPCA in Derby had a cocktail stick tucked somewhere in its urine-soaked coat. Moses, age nine, had to have more than half a kilogram of his dirty, matted fur removed as a result of the distressing discovery at a home outside the city.
The old dog was actually so badly matted that an RSPCA worker wasn’t sure what breed she could discover underneath. He was eventually identified as a Shih Tzu after three people laboriously spent more than two hours cutting it all off.
Moses was checked by veterinarians at Morley Veterinary Practice in Ilkeston. They estimated that it would have taken “a good number of years” for Moses’ coat to deteriorate to such a deplorable state, which RSPCA investigator Pamela Bird characterized as a “hardened shell.”
The cocktail stick was discovered embedded close to the dog’s flesh, and the dog’s tail was discovered to be so badly matted that it extended out at a right angle to his torso.
The scope of the issue we were facing became clear once the veterinary staff began treating Moses’ coat, according to Pamela. It smelled terrible and was covered in feces and urine. As we realized what we were seeing and how much this poor little puppy had been through, we all grew more and more horrified.
The staff had to slowly shave off his fur because of how carefully the team had sedated him and the fact that there were a few painful places underneath, but they did an absolutely great job.
“It’s one of the worst examples of matting I’ve ever seen, yet despite this hardened shell of foul-smelling fur he was dragging around, which must have been really difficult for him, Moses was one of the most good-natured dogs you could ever meet,” the author said.
Moses was reported to the RSPCA last month by a worried member of the public who had seen him stumbling around in the street. The inspector tracked down his owner, who was elderly and in very poor health, after making inquiries.
It was evident that Moses had been a member of the family for a long time, but his owner was struggling to deal with serious health concerns, and things had gotten too much for him to handle, Pamela continued. Moses had not been receiving the kind of care he ought to have, so his owner made the correct decision by turning him over to us so we could provide him with the care he so sorely needed.
Before being moved to the RSPCA’s Abbey Street rehoming center in Derby, where Moses is currently looking for a new home, he had treatment for anemia as well. Visitors to the center’s website can register their interest.
“It’s taken Moses a little bit to get used to having so little fur, and his skin was hypersensitive where it had been pinched underneath, so even gently brushing his back would upset him at first,” said Lucy Bell, the animal care manager. However, he is becoming increasingly joyful every day and we all think he is so lovely now that he realizes he can roam around without his coat dragging him down.
He’s been taking special baths to heal his skin, which he enjoys, and we’re starting to notice his playful side emerge even though he’s a little older. It took a group effort to get him where he is now, and we are grateful that we were able to assist and give him a second opportunity since we believe he will be a lovely, devoted pet for someone.
The RSPCA has started a campaign to “Cancel Out Cruelty” since new data indicates that during the summer, the organization receives over 50 more calls each day concerning animal cruelty. The RSPCA received a startling 44,427 reports of dog abuse in 2021.
Among the 1,081,018 calls made to its Cruelty Line in 2021, these were only a few. These comprised:
- 1,094 killings – equalling nearly three animals killed a day
- 632 mutilations – equalling 12 animals mutilated every week
- 7,857 beatings – equalling one animal beaten every hour
38,087 abandonments – equalling more than 100 animals abandoned every day.
