OVIEDO, Fla. – This is the season of miracles — a time when we all hope the spirit of the holidays will swoop in and restore our faith in humanity.
So when Poodles and Pooch Rescue of Florida got a call about a dog who needed help, they went to work right away and soon learned they were going to need a miracle to save one dog from suffering.
The rescue got a call about a dog that had been living in a crate outside.
A pup so matted she could barely walk.
Loretta is the pup’s name.
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It was clear Loretta was going to need more than an average grooming.
Poodles and Pooch Rescue of Florida put out an urgent plea on Facebook, and it wasn’t long before Loretta’s miracle team answered the call.
As The Tail Wags Grooming & Training in Oviedo wasted no time in responding after hearing Loretta’s story.
Three groomers came in to get ready for the emergency call. Mom-daughter duo Megan and Kristie Kingsland came in on their day off.
They said when they saw Loretta, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
“It was totally heartbreaking. When we first saw her in person, she couldn’t even walk on her own. Sweet, sweet baby. It just was heartbreaking,” explained Kristie.
They weren’t even sure how to approach such a severe case of matting. Another fear was what might be lying underneath the pup’s coat.
Their No. 1 priority was making sure Loretta knew she was in good hands and safe: a day this poor pup probably thought she would never live to see.
But again, this is the season of miracles, so three wise groomers at As the Tail Wags went to work.
Megan said they first had to outline their strategy.
“Safety is always going to be the top concern here,” she explained.
“And when a dog is matted this severely, we have to use a surgical blade sometimes to get in between the matting and that skin. There’s no other way around it but to go under it. And it becomes very concerning because we don’t know what’s underneath all of these mats. She had about 6 inches of impacted matted coat,” said Megan.
With each snip of the blade, they were nervous but determined to give this downtrodden dog a sliver of hope.
And it turns out Loretta was an excellent customer.
“She let us do whatever we needed to do. And you could honestly tell that we were offering much-needed relief. That kind of matting is very painful. It cuts off circulation to their skin. She was just so tolerant and so sweet and so loving,” recalled Kristie.
The more they worked to free Loretta from her twisted and matted prison, the better things started to look and the better Loretta started to feel.
The groomers say they felt lucky and were excited to see Loretta didn’t have too many injuries that would have kept her from getting the best treatment.
The women said they finally saw there was hope, and they were relieved.
So imagine how Loretta must have felt.
While things were looking better, they still had to be careful, especially around Loretta’s ears.
Megan explained why, saying, “Her ears were so so matted that we had to be very careful to shave them, there are a lot of things that can happen. One of the more common issues is developing a hematoma. When the ear is matted, so severely, it restricts blood flow to that area. So as we shave that, obviously, the blood comes pouring back in, causing the dog to feel a little funny. They will shake their heads a whole lot and then you’ll notice their ear might start filling with blood.”
It took them 20 minutes on each of Loretta’s ears just to make sure she didn’t have any complications.
Four hours later, and nearly 10 pounds of matted fur later, Loretta was finally free. And so was her spa day.
The groomers say this is why they do what they do. They just wanted to help this good girl.
And just how good of a girl is Loretta? For the first four minutes of the interview, she was sitting right behind Kristie and Megan waiting for her big on-camera reveal. All the while not making a single sound. Patiently waiting for her moment in the spotlight.
I couldn’t help but to squeal like a kid who just got a puppy for Christmas. I had seen the pictures, but there was something about seeing Loretta in real time that made me so happy to live in a world where people like Kristie and Megan poured their hearts into helping this dog that couldn’t feel the sun on her skin even though she lived outside.
Loretta does have a few health issues she dealing with right now. She is being treated for heartworms and arthritis.
Dawn and Kevin Hammer volunteer at Poodle and Pooch Rescue and are serving as a temporary foster family for Loretta.
The Hammers say Loretta loves to sun herself in their fenced-in yard. She will spend hours just soaking in the rays because she can finally feel the warmth on her skin.
They say Loretta also loves sleeping on her special orthopedic bed.
So what is their favorite thing about Loretta so far?
Kevin was quick to answer and said, “She just loves to cuddle. She wants to come up and put her head in your lap.”
We understand, Loretta. Merry Christmas and limitless cuddles to this very good girl.
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