Ban for man who allowed dog's fur to become so matted it was hard to tell one end from the other

A neglected shih tzu was discovered matted with so much fur that it was “difficult to tell one end of him from the other”. Four-year-old dog Lotso was found soaked in urine, with almost a kilo of excess matted fur making up 90 percent of his body.



His owner, Neil Tiernan, 40, from Belle Vale, Liverpool, was banned from keeping animals for three years after being prosecuted by the RSPCA. He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to protect his pet from pain at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. RSPCA officers were called to help Lotso in January this year. When they found him his eyes were covered by tangled fur and he “smelled strongly of urine where it had soaked into his coat”.





Inspector Claire Fisher said: “At first glance it was difficult to tell one end of Lotso from the other because he was so matted. It was the worst matting I had seen in 12 years.” Lotso was sedated and almost a kilo of fur was clipped off. He was examined again and the vet ruled he was underweight either because he wasn’t getting enough food or because his matted coat restricted him from bending down to eat his food.





Tiernan was also given a six month community order, a six month supervision and a curfew for three weeks, as well as being asked to pay £500 court costs. Inspector Fisher added: “Poor Lotso’s case is a very graphic reminder that anyone thinking of getting a dog or a puppy with a long coat must take into consideration that it will need to be regularly groomed. They have to be committed to taking the time to groom their pet or pay someone to do it professionally, it’s not something that can be ignored or the dog can suffer terribly.”