Kansas animal shelter transforms matted Shih Tzu who struggled to walk

Shih Tzu who struggled to walk because of his extremely matted fur is transformed after vets spent two hours shaving off 6lbs of hair

  • The 11-year-old dog, since named Simon, was taken to Kansas vet for treatment 
  • When he arrived he could hardly walk due to matted fur and weighed 20 pounds 
  • Vets spent two hours shaving off the clumps and underneath skin was healthy  

A rescue Shih Tzu has undergone an incredibly transformation after vets shaved off more than 6lbs of extremely matted fur. 

Footage shows  an 11-year-old stray dog, who has since been named Simon, who was brought into KC Pet Project in Kansas struggling to walk becauase of thick clumps of hair on his body and hanging over his face. 

He weighed about 20lbs because of the amounbt of fur on his body, which took two hours to remove. 

Now, he is still at the clinic and still has some mobility issues, but is gradually recovering from his ordeal.  

A rescue Shih Tzu has lost more than 6lbs after vets shaved off his extremely matted fur which caused him to weigh almost 20lbs 

A video shows an 11-year-old stray dog, who has since been named Simon, being shaved at the KC Pet Project in Kansas

A video shows an 11-year-old stray dog, who has since been named Simon, being shaved at the KC Pet Project in Kansas 

His fur, which appeared to be white naturally, was a dark brown colour and his ears were no longer visible. 

The woman in the video said: ‘This 11-year-old Shih Tzu came in today in possibly one of the worst matted cases we have ever seen.

‘We can only guess how long it took for him to get into this condition, but one thing we know for sure is that life is about to get so much better for this boy.’

She then added that two members of staff had the ‘tedious job’ of shaving every bit of matted fur off.

Simon appeared to be struggling to walk in the clip, as thick clumps of fur hung over his body and covered his legs

Simon appeared to be struggling to walk in the clip, as thick clumps of fur hung over his body and covered his legs 

One member of staff held up a clump of fur which had been covering the dog’s ear next to him for comparison.  

When Simon first arrived at the clinic before he was shaved, he weighed about 20lbs.  

Vets got to work on the dog and it took two hours to remove thick clumps of fur from his body.

Vets got to work on the dog and it took two hours to removed thick clumps of fur from his body which looked dirty and covered his face

Vets got to work on the dog and it took two hours to removed thick clumps of fur from his body which looked dirty and covered his face 

One member of staff held up a clump of fur which had been covering the dog's ear next to what his body should look like for comparison

One member of staff held up a clump of fur which had been covering the dog’s ear next to what his body should look like for comparison 

They put all the matter fur into a basket as they shaved Simon, who appeared to have been sedated on the table.  

The woman added that Simon’s skin was in ‘surprisingly good shape’ underneath the unkempt masses, but she added you never know if this will be the case.

In a second clip, staff at the vet said he is is still at the clinic and is ‘relatively healthy’ despite the poor condition he was in before. 

She added: ‘Simon has a couple of minor medical concerns, including chronic dry eye. He is in desperate need of dental work and because of the matted fur and how long he had it, he over corrected his stride. 

They put all the matter fur into a basket as they shaved Simon, who appeared to have been sedated on the table

They put all the matter fur into a basket as they shaved Simon, who appeared to have been sedated on the table

The woman in the clip added that two members of staff had the 'tedious job' of shaving every bit of matted fur off which took two hours

The woman in the clip added that two members of staff had the ‘tedious job’ of shaving every bit of matted fur off which took two hours 

‘So he doesn’t walk quite right yet, but we hope it will correct itself over time.’ 

Social media users were quick to take to the comments to express their adoration for the work the vets done.

One wrote: ‘Thank you for taking care of him. Please continue doing that,’ while another said: ‘Omg this breaks my heart! Thank you for taking care of him.’