DISTURBING pictures show two badly-neglected and abandoned dogs that look more like filthy balls of fur than pets.
The two Yorkshire Terriers had horrendously overgrown coats that had become dirty and matted, rotten teeth, overgrown claws, and were scared of human contact.
One of the dogs, named Sue and Mel by rescuers who found them on Wednesday, even had barbed wire tangled in its coat.
The dogs were discovered in the Elvaston Castle Country Park area of Derbyshire by local dog service, Crowfoot Kennels Dog Rescue.
A veterinary check-up established that both dog’s mouths are badly infected and one will require an operation to remove rotten teeth.
But after a drastic haircut and bath the path are said by rescuers to be like “new dogs” and are happily bouncing around the rescue centre.
Photos posted on their Facebook page show the incredible before and after pictures of the dogs in which they look unrecognisable.
Posting on their Facebook page, the rescue centre wrote: “We’ve picked up two Yorkshire Terriers today from Elvaston Castle area, we think they were dumped .
“They are both in such a bad state it is disgusting. They are both matted and are covered in what looks like dreadlocks. They both have a lovely temperament. Can’t understand how anyone could let this happen to not just one dog but two.
“Unfortunately we are seeing a lot of this where dogs have been dumped and not been looked after.
“This afternoon we are spending time with them both and clipping them so they are more comfortable. We have found one had barbed wire entangled in all the matt.
“Then we will give them a bath and hopefully they will look and feel a lot better and also smell a lot better.”
The photos show the dishevelled dogs with horrible, dirty hair which show they clearly haven’t been cared for properly in a long time.
In a separate post on Thursday morning, the rescue centre shared pictures of the freshly washed dogs with the caption: “First stage of hair cut and wash. They look like a dog now.
Another go tomorrow after they’ve had a rest. They are racing around wagging their tails already can’t believe the difference.”
The dogs look unrecognisable in the new pictures, with the thick black dirt washed from their coats to reveal their golden hair.
Speaking about the dramatic transformation, Karen Gregory, owner of the Crowfoot Kennels Dog Rescue said: “When we found the dogs, they were in a terrible state. There seems to be more and more people dumping dogs.
“Why they can’t get help or drop them into a rescue home I don’t know.
“We brought them both back and got the matt and clumps out of their hair and then bathed them.
As soon as they’d had the haircuts they were like different dogs, running around and happy.
“We’ll keep the dogs and nurse them back to health for a month or two, then they’ll go up for adoption.”
Anyone who wants to help fund the care of Sue and Mel can donate to the crowdfunding appeal here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/karen-gregory-1
