Groomer Called To Help Dog in ‘Worst Case of Matting’ She’s Ever Seen

A professional groomer answered the call to help a dog with the “worst case” of matting she had ever seen in her career, and the pup was left almost unrecognizable.

Vanessa De Prophetis has worked as a pet groomer for 13 years, having had a love for animals from a young age. She was recently called by Niagara SPCA & Humane Society in Canada to help a small dog, Angel, with devastating matting.

When she saw Angel’s photos, De Prophetis was utterly shocked and knew she had to help. “I had never encountered an animal so severely matted, and it was nearly impossible to discern which end was which,” she told Newsweek.

Angel had been found abandoned on railroad tracks, but is not believed to be a stray—instead, the rescue center believes that “she was someone’s pet who had been confined in a cage for many years.”

“It was heartbreaking to think that a human allowed their pet to reach such a state,” De Prophetis said, adding she also felt a deep concern for whoever allowed this to happen to Angel. “It’s likely they are also enduring their own struggles, as no rational person would permit such a situation to occur.”

De Prophetis shared a video of Angel’s grooming, which took two-and-a-half hours, and her complete transformation, to her TikTok account @girlwithedogs on December 16.

Posted in two parts, the long video began with photos of Angel in terrible condition, with matting so tangled and thick that it is impossible to tell what she looks like. De Prophetis described the matting as feeling “like a cast on her legs, and the smell was incredibly potent.”

De Prophetis called Angel the “most neglected dog that I have ever seen in my career”—and quickly got to work to give the pup her freedom.

The clip showed De Prophetis working as gently as possible, whispering encouragement and removing thick clumps from the dog, who was also covered in her own dirt and unable to walk. Angel was also unable to be sedated due to potential unknown health issues that could have made sedation dangerous.

De Prophetis worked without gloves to be better able to feel Angel’s skin, paws and nails, and went through several pairs of scissors before, eventually, enough matting was gone to put Angel into her first bath in years.

“Her bath water was completely black within 30 seconds of her being submerged in it,” De Prophetis said, but, afterward, Angel was like a different animal.

After the arduous grooming process, Angel was able to eat and rest, and a veterinarian checked her over, where she was found to have dental disease and an eye ulcer, along with ear infections, skin infections and mammary gland tumors.

But, just days later, the Humane Society sent De Prophetis a video of Angel going for a walk in the snow, wearing a doggy coat to keep her warm—and, while she was stiff, she was undeniably on the move.

TikTok users responded in a big way, with the two videos being watched over 10 million times in total. One commenter wrote: “Thank you for helping her.”

“Thank for doing this magical work for Angel,” another posted, as a third added: “I couldn’t even tell it was a dog.”

And one comment read: “As a fellow dog groomer, seeing the dog’s face and how old she was made me cry.”

De Prophetis ended her video by thanking the rescue and all her viewers, particularly anyone who had donated to the rescue to help with Angel’s recovery.

Sharing her videos to social media allows De Prophetis to volunteer to help animals, while also still working at her profession. She told Newsweek: “Contributing to my community has been the most rewarding gift that social media and my supporters have provided me.”

De Prophetis added: “After Angel is cleared medically, which may take several months, she will be available for adoption through the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society in Ontario, Canada.”

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