BUFFALO, NY – A small dog police found in a basement and thought was dead has undergone an amazing transformation.
WIVB reports that Buffalo police officer Jessica Coughlin called the Erie County SPCA Monday morning after she realized little Dori was alive in a in Buffalo, New York home
SPCA officials said Dori’s owners, Ronald and Shelly Breier, left the dog in the basement for at least a year and were each charged with one count of animal cruelty.
But officers would not elaborate on why the dog was left in the basement for so long.
The animal, who was covered with four pounds of matted fur, was taken to the SPCA where dozens of workers spent two and a half hours cleaning and carefully shaving her.
A YouTube video documenting Dori's recovery states that 34 percent of the dog's body weight consisted of painful mats. In fact, officials said she weighed 11 pounds when she arrived at the SPCA. After the excess fur was trimmed away, she weighed just 7.3 pounds.
"She couldn't really move with all the mats," SPCA Director Barbara Carr said. "We see matted dogs but I've never seen anything like this, this was really horrendous."
Under all the fur, they discovered that the little dog had several broken bones and had twine embedded into one of her paws.
"We were shocked when we say the x-rays and what had happened to the foot of this dog through this neglect," Carr said.
Officials said Dori’s the good news prognosis is good. They think she will eventually be healthy enough to be adopted, but for now are taking it day by day.
"It's awesome that she's able to get the medical care here and that she's finally be kind of normal and feel things on her skin and see the light of day," Carr said.
