I had been grooming a little less than a year when someone called me to groom what she believed to be a Shih-Tzu that had wandered up to her house from the Interstate. She wasn't sure if it was a boy or girl. Well, when she got to my shop, she asked if I could get him out of her car, that he was that bad. This dog was so covered in mud, mats and stickers it was hard to hold him at all and he stunk HORRIBLY. I ended up wet-shaving him because of how large the mat on his back was. It was at least 2 inches thick and about 10 inches long. I had to hold the mat with one hand and do everything else with the other as it kept pulling him over in the tub. After all was said and done, I was able to save a little on his head and tail. Surprisingly, he had no sores or fleas. The vet the next day said that he was probably a little over a year old. When the new owner saw his before pics (and the after dog), she was in tears. So was I. Oh, and he ended up only being about 6 pounds.