“My Name is Max”

Max arrives at the shelter

Max arrives at the shelter

Here is a heartwarming story!

Matted Max: 
Stranded Victim of Neglect Gets Second Chance

Asheville, NC –  Against all odds, an adorable little Shih Tzu has a new chance at life thanks to  the staff and volunteers of Asheville Humane Society.  Max, a year-old male Shih Tzu, was brought to Asheville Humane Society by a compassionate motorist who found him in a crate on the side of the road with a cardboard sign that read “My Name Is Max.” Inside the crate was a mass of matted fur. Fearful the dog was dying, his rescuer immediately drove Max to the Asheville Humane Society shelter located at 72 Lee’s Creek Road where staffers were saddened and appalled by his horrible condition.

“Every time we touched him, he flinched from pain,” said Jennifer Brehler, Director of Operations for Asheville Humane Society. “He was literally matted from head to tail covered with leaves, sticks and caked-on mud, the result of inexcusable neglect.” Brehler speculates that Max has probably never been groomed in his entire life and probably lived outdoors.  This type of matting usually results in painful skin injuries and bacterial infections as well as potential blindness.  “Severe matting will actually rip open the skin and cause infection and burning. It’s very painful,” said Brehler. “Max is pretty lucky because his mats didn’t cause eye injuries. When mats collect in front of the eye, they can cause abrasions, which get infected and the dog can lose eyesight,” she said.

Weighing in at 15 pounds, Max actually lost an entire pound after volunteer groomer Sharon Wood shaved his entire body transforming him into a 14-pound Shih Tzu.“ His head was so heavy with mats, he could barely lift it. We couldn’t see his eyes or even find his skin because the mats were so thick,” said Wood. “With mats this bad, you often see bad flea infestation under the mats and skin that is irritated or starting to deteriorate. We weren’t sure what we would find.  In over 8 years of professional grooming, I’ve never seen anything like this.” Wood spent two hours shaving off the mats before she could bathe him. “It took me another hour to bathe him, clip his toenails and clean his ears but once he was rid of those dirty mats, he became a friendly, animated, happy-go-lucky little dog who loves people.”

Second Chances

Look at me now!

Look at me now!

Earlier this week, a Black Mountain couple visited Asheville Humane Society in the hopes of adopting a dog who needed a second chance. Before they even knew his story, Patrick and Jenny Rine picked up the cutie pie from the adoption floor and fell in love. “We were drawn in by his really sweet face, cute wiggly tail and soft fur, but when we saw the photos of how he looked when he came here we realized ‘Max’ needed us as much as we needed him.  We are determined to give him a new beginning.”

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