well, I got her finished last Thursday, just about.  It's taken me who-knows-how many hours to get her done, and I had to take out not only the matted undercoat but the undercoat that I think should've still been there, it was all just knotted together.  but it wasn't as hard as I though it was going to be, fortunately the belly mats and neck mats came out much, much easier than I thought they would.

What bugs me though, is after all that hard work, and seeing how happy Gunner was afterwards - bouncing around, free from the pain of the mats under her back legs and the stink of the poo round her bum hair, the owners were apparently very blaze about the whole thing.  I wasn't there, but Ann gave them 3 full bags of hair - all they had to say was "well, she's got kidney problems and she's 8, she'll be gone soon anyway."  ARG!  If I'd been there, there would have been words.  Ann told them they should be ashamed, but apparently whilst they did say how much better she looked, they really weren't bothered at all by the state she was is before, and I certainly doubt they'll try to prevent it again.  It's so infuriating, she is such a lovely dog - she's not even like the wheaten I had this morning; horribly matted, because he's a pain to brush (so the owner's given up trying, I'm going to chat this weekend to her about training him to tolerate it - he was in agony when I started him this morning. fortunately, she cares!) - Gunner is the opposite, she sat still through almost all of the tugging and discomfort, only got a bit frustrating when I tried to do her bum and tail (the worst bits).  She's such a sweet soul, I actually find myself hoping she does die soon for her sake, so she'll be free from these idle idiots.  It's awful to be thinking that about such a nice dog, it really is.

What horrible people :( They don't deserve to own that poor dog.

Well done you for helping her out anyway. I'm sure Gunner appreciates your hard work even if her owners don't.

That must of been a difficult job,i try to do my puppy every other day at least and she is sometimes a real pain,especially her tail and bum area but perseverance and eventually she will take it in her stride,i would be ashamed if it was my dog i am always so proud when people remark on her coat being so nice (6 mnths old) well done to you,some people really shouldnt have dogs especially those that need grooming.