By
Nadine Kalinauskas |
Good News – Fri, 25 Oct, 2013
http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/yz...shrekpuppy.jpgNot long ago, Brenda Gough, a veterinarian, and her husband spotted a stray dog, all alone and barely able to walk because of his heavily matted fur, near the Southern Cross Equestrian Facility just outside Brantford, Ontario.
"I think he is a puppy mill dog and I'll bet he has spent most, if not all of his life, in a cage," said Gough, who works at the
Park Road Veterinary Clinic where the dog was treated.
"He was anemic, had very low protein and he could barely walk because his legs were hurting from all of that hair and mud caked on him for so long."
"We also had to take a burr out of his eye."
Gough and her colleagues named the dog Shrek. In a stunning makeover, they shaved more than 3 pounds of matted fur off the 6-year-old canine.
The final reveal: a beautiful white Maltese Poodle.
[ More Good News: Edmonton's boxcar kittens adopted together ]
The Goughs have since welcomed Shrek into their home and are teaching him to act like family.
"He is learning that snuggling on the couch, warm and dry, loved by children and family, is actually pretty awesome," Brenda Gough told the
Mirror.
Shrek's story quickly earned international attention.
"His story has gone viral," Gough told
The Expositor. "I'm getting supportive messages from New York and Quebec."
"It feels great to have so much support. When you see a pet in this kind of condition you start to lose faith in humanity and then you see this amazing outpouring of support come Shrek's way and you think there are a lot of really caring people out there," Gough
added.
Shortly after the story went viral, local law enforcement received a tip-off about a nearby puppy mill. Twelve other dogs
have since been rescued from dire conditions.
