Bolivia: Abandoned dog with fur so overgrown it looked like Cousin Itt is rescued and given a drastic transformation

BOLIVIA -- A stray dog with an overgrown coat riddled with fleas was given a radical makeover by an animal welfare charity - and has now found a new home.

Choco used to roam Bolivian capital La Paz surviving on scraps of meat and grew a coat so long he looked like Cousin Itt from The Addams Family.

 

But the mangy mutt was rescued after singer Monica Ergueta Romero, 39, tweeted a photo of him with an appeal for help from her fans.

She was angry about the way some people treated their animals and called on followers to report the owner who had 'left this poor little dog like this'.

Two days later, she was able to post the news that Choco had been adopted after being given a haircut and a wash.

In total the fur that was cut away weighed 4.4lbs, and was soaked in urine, faeces and dirt.

Choco's rescuer, Giovanni Aliaga, saved him with help from 'Ciudadanos en Defensa de los Animales-Bolivia' (Citizens in Defence of Animals-Bolivia).

They said that the dog was around 12 years old and had apparently been abandoned when its family moved to a new home and left it behind.

Locals had fed it scraps, but nobody had bothered to cut his fur.

Along with Cousin Itt, he could also have been compared to Dougal from children's TV series The Magic Roundabout.

Mr Aliaga said: 'His health state was poor, because his long hair grew so long that he was not able to move properly.

'When someone tried to catch him, he was usually aggressive, and therefore he was never helped.'

He said that all it needed was gentle treatment, and it had been no problem to capture and bring it to a vet for a cleanup.

After being given a clean bill of health, Choco was adopted by a family who lived near to where he was found. He is reportedly settling in well to his new home.

(Daily Mail - Oct 18 2016)