Winter can be a really challenging and unforgiving time for almost all homeless animals as the temperatures drop and harsh weather sets in, and Donna Lochmann with the Stray Rescue of St. Louis (SRSL) team had a chance to witness that.

A few years ago in the middle of a strong snowstorm, the rescue team was patrolling the city’s streets when they suddenly spotted a mysterious gray mound curled up beneath a white van. As they later found out, it was a dog, just matted so much that he was nearly frozen to the ground.

More info: Stray Rescue of St. Louis

This sweet dog named Pilgrim was found almost frozen to the ground due to his overgrown hair

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis / Youtube

When Donna saw the strange-looking creature beneath the vehicle, she couldn’t tell exactly what he was at first. Only when the woman came closer, did she realize it was a horribly matted dog.

“His hair was so long, you could barely tell which side was his face,” Donna recalled. “You could kind of see his nose,” she added.

Due to the worsening snowstorm, the dog’s long hair was soaking wet and was about to turn into icy concrete, causing the animal unbearable pain.

Donna didn’t wait any longer and crawled under the van. She put a leash over the dog’s neck and tried to somehow pull him out from that unforgiving situation. Underneath, the dog’s mats were already frozen to the ground.

“He screamed… But with skill and patience, Donna got him safely into the warm Jeep,” SRSL wrote on Facebook after the rescue.

The poor scared pup was wrapped in a towel and brought directly to SRSL’s animal hospital, where he was supposed to get a detailed thorough checkup, but the vets couldn’t do it because of the huge amount of fur blocking access.

“We had to get the hair off of him. It’s a real process when it’s that knotted up, trying to get it off,” Donna shared. “He had to feel so much better getting all that hair off of him. It might’ve been about six pounds of hair,” she added.

Once the veterinary team carefully removed all the frozen, matted fur, they discovered that the dog, who was later named Pilgrim, also had a broken pelvis along with other bone fractures. The doctors believed these injuries were a result of being run over by a car.

Once the rescue team shaved off almost 6 pounds of icy, matted hair, they discovered that the dog also had a broken pelvis along with other bone fractures

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis / YouTube

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis / Youtube

The rescue team did everything they could to nurse Pilgrim back to complete health, and within three weeks, the dog made a full recovery. Once his overgrown fur was gone and all the injuries had healed, the pup was finally ready for a new bright chapter in his life.

Fortunately, it came much faster than anyone was expecting. Very soon, a loving couple, Taylor and Joe, took Pilgrim to their home as a foster dog, and it didn’t take long before they decided to change their minds and adopt him instead.

“Pilgrim fits in so perfectly with our family…so we decided to foster fail. He’s a very happy boy,” the couple shared.

The dog now is barely recognizable: once so frightened and in so much pain, now Pilgrim seems to be living his best life with his new family and furry siblings.

Now Pilgrim is finally safe and truly loved in his new fur-ever family

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis / Facebook

Image credits: Stray Rescue of St. Louis

Thanks to the rescue team’s huge efforts, Pilgrim eventually got back his sweet soul that was hidden underneath many years of neglect. Now the dog is finally safe, truly loved, and brings an incredible amount of joy to his new family every single day!

People on the internet were happy seeing such a beautiful happy ending

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