Reading the tale of an animal being saved from a life of suffering is one thing that is certain to warm the heart. Ellie Mae is one such fortunate dog. When she first came at the shelter, she had been mistreated to the point that it was nearly impossible to determine what sort of animal she was simply by looking at her.

The dog was left behind when her owner passed away, and she was unable to leave. Ellie Mae’s entire cleaning process took a lot of time and effort. She had a lot of health issues, including hernias, muscular atrophy, and arthritis, so helping her rebuild her strength was the most difficult.

You wouldn’t even believe Ellie Mae had been struggling with overgrown, matted hair two weeks after being brought to the shelter. Ellie Mae “appears to be a Shih Tzu or maybe a Shih Tzu mix,” according to a Twitter user.

An NHS official named Pam Wiese described what transpired in great detail.

“The most difficult aspect of aiding Ellie Mae. We had to put her under anesthesia to shave her down because she was so severely matted. We really couldn’t tell what she actually weighed because the drugs to do that are based on an animal’s weight. Pam Wiese said, “So our veterinary technician who made the estimate needed to be very careful.

We had to shave extremely closely to the skin since the matting was so bad. Blades typically used to prepare a surgical site were being utilized by all three personnel treating Ellie. They are really incisive. In order to cut through the thick matting without cutting her, we had to exercise tremendous caution. For three individuals, the procedure took slightly over an hour! Pam Wiese also spoke.

“When she first arrived, we were astounded by her condition. Those who discovered her in the house after her owner passed away were also. They were unaware that she had a dog. Ellie couldn’t walk, so they put her in a storage container and took her to the Nebraska Humane Society, Wiese said.

“Until her head moved, none of our staff members knew what she was or that she was even a real being. She felt really uneasy. We intubated her for her clean-up after zipping her into our medical area, determining what type of anesthesia was safe to use, and searching for her face.

After her clean up, NHS members were amazed that she didn’t have more health issues. The hard shell of hair apparently protected her skin from infections and parasites.

They’ve observed situations in which the hair becomes so tight that it strangles the limbs, thus “amputating” them. Necrosis and sepsis are serious issues in certain situations.

In one instance, she was unexpectedly healthy after losing 9 pounds of hair from her 11-pound frame. She required a dental cleaning, but the next morning she was up and moving despite having a healthy weight, some arthritis, and some muscular atrophy.

Ellie is a sweet dog. She gets along well with people and any other amiable dogs she meets. She is incredibly strong! She is adorable as well!