OVIEDO, Fla. — An Oviedo dog groomer is being praised for her quick work in helping save an abandoned dog in distress.
The groomer's husband told Channel 9's Angela Jacobs on Friday that the dog was found late Wednesday after good Samaritans saved it from being hit by a car along Conroy Road.
The dog was so severely matted, the groomer’s husband said, it could barely see through its neglected and overgrown hair. The dog also had to be carried and was unable to walk or wag his tail.
BGE Grooming was contacted due to the dog’s poor condition. The dog groomer, Kari Falla, immediately opened the salon along East Broadway Street at midnight to begin working on the dog.
Eyewitness News learned Falla worked on the dog until after 3 a.m. to return its mane to good condition.
A Channel 9 viewer, familiar with the incident, contacted Channel 9 and said, “She (Kari) didn't stop there. Today she got with a local vet and they took the dog and they are currently housing and going to find a forever home.”
While the dog undergoes its medical evaluation, Falla reported on her Facebook page that it is seeing well and playing happily with lots of tail-wagging.
UPDATE: The man who is now taking care of the dog abandoned and in distress last week in Orange County contacted Eyewitness News to tell us more of the dog's story and rescue.
Zachary Blair told Channel 9 he was spurred to help when he saw a Facebook post on the Conway Critters Page after two good Samaritans saved the dog from getting hit by a car and brought it to Orange County Animal Services. Blair told Channel 9, the dog was in pain from being in such bad shape and was so matted it could barely walk.
Blair picked up the dog and headed to Oviedo, where BGE Grooming’s Kari Falla also posted that night that she would open shop at midnight to shave what was estimated to be two years of hair growth that had been obstructing the dog’s movement. Hours later, pictures show the transformation.
Blair wants to thank all the people who came together to help save this dog, including Altamonte Veterinary where the next day, vets gave the dog an all-inclusive exam including all shots, neutering surgery, teeth cleaning, laser eye surgery, a round of antibiotics, and an ear cleaning. Blair says his own employer paid the vet bills after being was so moved by the dog’s situation,
“It really took a village,” Blair told Channel 9’s Angela Jacobs in an email. “A bunch of strangers trusting each other and working together to save an animal in the middle of the night.”
Blair said Lucky is blind in one eye and has some hearing loss, but other than that is in good health, wagging his tail and on the road to full recovery. Blair named him after a dog he rescued from the ASPCA years ago of the same name and who died a few years ago at 19 years old.
Pictures don't even come close to showing how bad these mats were. They were soaking wet, infested with fleas, full of yeast infection and attached like a mummified cast. The smell was horrendous.
Posted by BGE Grooming on Thursday, October 12, 2017
We can only imagine the amount of relief this baby is feeling after being relieved of all these painful mats! We knew it was an emergency as soon as we saw him!
Posted by BGE Grooming on Thursday, October 12, 2017
We were sent this video after he was groomed last night. THIS is why we opened at a moment's notice to help this little baby. When he was brought to us by the transporter , he couldn't even walk. He was carried in. His hair was so matted they became casts all over his body . He could not walk let alone wag his tail. He could not poop, his butt was sewed shut with matting. He couldn't feel you touching him, the mats were so thick it was insane. He was suffering. Look how happy he is now! 😍😍😍😍😍
Posted by BGE Grooming on Thursday, October 12, 2017
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