In Winchester in Hampshire County, UK, a construction worker named Matt Southcott was walking by a street when he saw a pile of rags. He didn’t pay much attention to it, because hey, why would anyone bother with a pile of rags on the side of the road? But what shocked him was when he saw the rags move, writes Nicolette Mansueto-Ferniz from iheartdogs.com

At first he thought they were sheep since their hair were so matted that they were unrecognizable. It turns out, what he saw weren’t rags or sheep at all–they were dogs with severely matted hair. But what’s even more heartbreaking was that they were a family of dogs–a mama dog and her eight puppies.

Upon realizing that the “rags” were actually a family of dogs, Matt immediately contacted the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSCPA) so they can be rescued.

It took the groomers around 3 hours to shave each dog. Not only were the dogs dirty and severely matted, but they got scared every time a human touched them. These dogs were seriously neglected and they may have been abused and beaten as well.

The dogs were so filthy, which showed that they got very little or no care from their previous owner. The mother dog even had stones trapped in her paw pads. When the groomer gathered all the matted hair they shaved from the dogs, they were able to fill three large sacks with them.

The mama dog, who was around 8-years-old, was named Sian; and her pups, who were around one-year-old, were named Fay, Mavis, Martha, Justin, Wills, Kate, Maria and Dave.

We are relieved to know that these dogs are rescued and are now being cared for.

A big thank you to Matt for not ignoring these dogs and for calling the authorities so they can be rescued. We are also very grateful for RSCPA‘s efforts in helping these dogs and taking care of them.