Fur-tangled dog removed from home; group stresses proper grooming

By ASHLEY M. WISLOCK - awislock@sungazette.com
The Lycoming County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was reminded of the dangers faced by dogs who do not receive proper grooming care on Friday, when a young Bichon Frise was rescued from a Williamsport home with more than 50 percent of its body covered in matted fur.

According to Larry Woltz, a humane society police officer, matting is more than just clotted hair; it is twists and knots of fur, mixed with dirt, feces and dried urine, which can greatly harm an animal.

“Mats can get so tight and twisted they can actually tear the flesh from the dog’s body,” he said. Woltz said that mats also make it hard for a dog to move as they pull at its body.

“It would be like someone was pulling your hair constantly,” he said.

Sandy Winton, a groomer and co-owner of the Animal and Avian Hospital on the Golden Strip, agreed.

“If you grab a fistful of hair at the base of your neck and then try to bend your head, that’s what a dog is feeling,” she said. “It’s quite painful for them.”

According to an affidavit filed with the Williamsport Bureau of Police, a neighbor called the SPCA on Wednesday after observing the dog, which was described as “so severely matted she could not tell what breed the dog was.” The dog was taken into SPCA custody Friday.

Woltz said that dogs with severely matted fur face many difficulties in addition to skin and mobility problems, including issues with parasites, which use the mats as entryways into the dog’s body, foot and nail problems and a higher likelihood of contracting diseases related to dirt and feces.

Winton said that dogs need to be brushed two to three times a week and professionally groomed every six to eight weeks to prevent harmful matting from building up. She said that when a dog is covered in matted fur it is like being in a body cast, and that groomers often must sedate dogs with severe matting because grooming the dogs while they are awake is too painful for them.

However, Winton said that freeing a dog from that kind of restraint and pain is very rewarding for groomers.

“It makes us feel really good to shave a dog (in that condition),” she said.

According to Winton, dogs should be exposed to grooming early, in the first 12 weeks of life, to get them used to the equipment and techniques used during the process, which can be frightening for animals new to the experience.

“It exposes grooming to them early and gets them used to the idea of a comb and a brush and the noises they make,” Winton said, as a pair of hair clippers buzzed loudly in the background.

The grooming staff at Animal and Avian also develop personal relationships with the animals they groom, and try to make the sessions enjoyable for the dogs. Every newly groomed animal gets a free scarf, and can get their nails painted or bows in their hair, to add an extra special touch to their new hairdo.

During the winter and spring months, the Animal and Avian Hospital offers free grooming seminars for the public, in order to provide dog owners with the techniques necessary to groom their animals safely and efficiently.

“We start from the bare bones and take (the pet owners) through the process,” Winton said.

The next grooming seminar will be held in September.

Winton said that the abuse of the Bichon Frise, who was examined at the Animal and Avian Hospital Friday afternoon, is “appalling,” and that properly grooming a dog is vital to a dog’s health and safety.

“It’s more than just a haircut,” she said.