Abandoned Dog So Matted He Looked Like a 'Wig' Unrecognizable After Rescue

A dog's remarkable transformation from looking "like a wig" to the "sweetest" pooch has been widely praised.

The matted dog, rescued from the middle of the road, looked little more than "a wig" and was taken to the animal rescue Mac's Mission in the Missouri Bootheel area on Saturday, July 9.

Mac's Mission founder Rochelle Steffen told Newsweek that the dog, called Pear, was immediately taken to the rescue center by a local resident where she was cared for.

The founder said it was lucky that Pear did not get run over as she "didn't even look like a living dog."

Steffen said: "She was the sweetest and just sat there while we got all the terrible thick matts of her which took quite a while. Thankfully, she didn't have maggots from the matts which many do when they get matted.

"We assessed her condition and found her to be missing an entire eyeball. This seemed like an older injury but was still a bit gunky, as well as her other eye."

She said: "We got her cleaned up, shaved down, and a bath to get rid of any grime and fleas. She got settled into one of our spaces and fell asleep pretty quickly."

Photos shared by Mac's Mission show Pear with long matted hair which was cut short later to finally reveal her face.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.

The ASPCA stated: "We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.1 million)."

It said approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year: 2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats.

According to its website, Mac's Mission focuses its efforts on so-called "janky" dogs who need urgent medical care and would die without life-saving care.

It added that while the organization is based in Jackson, the rescue operates nationwide and takes care of dogs that are most in need.

Business magazine Forbes estimates that as of 2023, 66 percent—estimated to be 86.9 million—U.S. homes own at least one pet. It said that this is up from 56 percent in 1988.

The magazine found that dogs were the most popular pet in the U.S. with 65.1 million households owning at least one followed by cats, with 46.5 million homes owning one.