Abandoned Dog Recovers from Hairy Situation

When Ripley the poodle was found by shelter staffers, they couldn't tell if the little pup was male or female. With fur so badly matted that the creature hardly resembled a dog, it was one of the worst cases rescuers in Houma, La., had ever seen.

Ripley, who turned out to be male, was discovered in a quarry outside a southern Louisiana shelter on Oct. 18. After he was recovered, staffers contacted My Heart's Desire, a private rescue group that helps last-chance pets. "We don't know if someone put him there, or if he wandered there," My Heart's Desire co-director Tracey Lapeyrouse tells PEOPLEPets.com. "We had no clue what the deal was. But we immediately started rounding people up, knowing this was going to be a huge undertaking financially and time-wise."

Since Ripley had been covered in this mess of fur for so long, he didn't know how to react to touch, nor did he understand how to walk on grass — he hadn't actually felt the ground in months.

To clean him up, veterinarians at a nearby clinic sedated Ripley, then shaved a whopping 2.5 lbs. of fur off his 7.5-lb. body. Though he still has some sores, he's recovering well, and now it's "just a matter of letting his skin breathe and heal," Lapeyrouse says.

As for his other issues, "he's done a complete turnaround in just the couple of weeks we've had him," Lapeyrouse says. He's gained a little weight, and craves human attention. "He realizes that people are good, and loves for you to pick him up and snuggle with him," Lapeyrouse shares. Though Ripley, estimated to be 2, isn't available for adoption yet, My Heart's Desire has had dozens of inquiries and is working on finding him a forever home — preferably one without children or large dogs.

When Ripley does join his new family, he'll be coming with a years' worth of grooming, food, toys and more from the PETCO Foundation and Ripley's Believe It or Not. Since the pup was unnamed when he was rescued, staffers decided to call him Ripley because "they just couldn't believe there was a dog under there," Lapeyrouse says. When Ripley's got wind of the story, they stepped in, offering to help sponsor the pooch for a year.

"We're so grateful. They want to follow him, the news wants to follow him, and we obviously want to follow him, too," Lapeyrouse says. "We didn't know the beginning of his story, but we know the middle, and hopefully, we'll know the happy end."

(via People Magazine)