Rescued Cocker Spaniels Get Spa Day

Nearly three dozen rescued cocker spaniels are being given a new lease on life.

The Houston SPCA was awarded custody of the dogs on Monday and immediately turned to volunteers with the local cocker spaniel rescue group to help them with one of the worst cases of neglect they've seen.

The volunteers donated their time to groom the dogs. Their matted hair soaked in urine is evidence, investigators say, of months of neglect.

"As we are trimming these dogs we're finding really bad yeast infections, bacterial infections. On one when we trimmed it, we found lice and maggots," said Dr. Teri Schweiss, Vice President of Animal Welfare at the Houston SPCA.

Indeed, their previous life wasn't making tails wag.

On May 29, the SPCA seized the dogs, which were living in a shed behind a well kept home in Rosenberg. Investigators found them living in deplorable conditions with no food, no clean water and no proper ventilation.

One dog was so severely matted he couldn't walk on his own. The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office says the owners are former dog breeders who are now facing animal cruelty charges.

"Keeping up a good grooming routine, whether you learn it yourself of you take your dog to a professional, is really a vital part of their overall health care," said Dr. Schweiss.

Some of the rescued dogs might be put on the adoption floor in as little as a week or two. For others, it will take much longer to clean up the damage that's been hidden beneath their coats for a while.

The Houston SPCA is offering half price adoptions through the month of June for all dogs, cats and rabbits.