Dog killed by its own fur

Veterinarians, shocked by one of the most extreme animal neglect cases they have ever seen, are looking for the owners of a Pekinese dog that they say died after becoming immobile, trapped by his own fur.

The male Pekinese was found abandoned and unable to move or walk because of severe matting of its fur in Waltham on March 6. The dog was taken to the Good Samaritan to Kindness Animal Hospital for care but could not be saved and died a few days later.

"This is probably one of the most extreme cases of neglect we've encountered in our practice," said Susan Rosenblatt, chief of staff at Kindness. "We're concerned that there may be other animals in the same household that are being similarly neglected."



The Pekinese was between 9 and 12-years-old, tan and blind in his right eye. The left eye had been surgically removed. The dog's fur had grown and become so completely matted around its body that the dog was trapped within itself.

"The mats were so big and thick that an open safety pin, which appeared on an X-ray we took, couldn't be found after we clipped his fur," Rosenblatt said.

"His ears, which are normally less than 3 inches long, were nearly a foot long with the mats. Matted fur also pulls on the skin, causing a great deal of irritation and pain," she said.

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