A dog found wandering around the Sorrento area last week, severely matted and in pain, is almost unrecognizable after a makeover and a showering of community support.

Sorrento resident Amy Berry found the small brown dog on her rural property after it came over from her neighbour鈥檚 house. Berry noticed the dog was in bad shape, with heavy matting, fur covering his eyes and mud caked to his paws. She immediately took him to the vet for an assessment, where they found no tattoo or microchip and estimated his age at about five years old. Berry reached out on Facebook to find a groomer to help make the dog more comfortable.

鈥淗e had tape in his fur, and burrs, and wasn鈥檛 properly able to even eat the way his chin was stuck down to him,鈥� said Berry.

Donna Meads, owner of A Rover Makeover grooming business in Sorrento, said her daughter saw the post about the pup. Meads knew she needed to help, contacted Berry, and came in on her day off Friday, April 21 to tackle the job.

鈥淲hile I was grooming him, I noticed the dog wasn鈥檛 skinny,鈥� said Meads. 鈥淚 figured the dog had an owner who had probably dumped him, he wasn鈥檛 lost.鈥�

She was concerned that although the dog had been being fed, it wasn鈥檛 being properly taken care of.

Meads said the matting had to be from at least two years鈥� worth of buildup and the tops of his ears were bald from heavy matting pulling out his fur.

On Saturday, April 22, Berry approached the owner about the dog. She asked why the dog was in the shape it was in and said the owner didn鈥檛 give a response, simply surrendering the dog to Berry鈥檚 care when she mentioned the SPCA had been contacted.

Meads had been housing the dog with the intention of fostering and potentially adopting him. When she heard the owner had officially given him up, Meads decided to fully trial the adoption idea, bringing the dog to her grooming shop to see if the lifestyle she leads would work for the dog. Otherwise, Berry has had an outpouring of support through social media to fall back on, including multiple offers of adoption.

鈥淗e鈥檚 not had a great start, for sure, so if it doesn鈥檛 work for him, it鈥檚 not a life that鈥檚 gonna work for him, he can鈥檛 be stressed,鈥� said Meads. She said she鈥檇 be getting the dog neutered and caught up on its vaccinations on April 27.

Although it doesn鈥檛 seem as if the dog has ever even been in a house 鈥� he鈥檚 afraid of stairs, TV, jumping on or off furniture and being on a leash, Meads said he鈥檚 a 鈥榮weet little guy鈥� who seems to be doing well, acting happy and playing with other dogs in her shop.

While Meads is waiting to see if she officially adopts the pup, Berry has temporarily dubbed the dog 鈥淟ucky.鈥�

鈥淲hen I first took him to the vet, they asked for a name, and I just thought, I don鈥檛 know, he鈥檚 pretty lucky today, let鈥檚 go with that,鈥� said Berry.

Meads has performed the grooming services free of charge and taken on the additional vet costs. If anyone would like to help with costs, they can stop by A Rover Makeover at 1240 Trans-Canada Hwy. in Sorrento or email arovermakeover@gmail.com.

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rebecca.willson@saobserver.net
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