WATCH: Peyton dog rescue works to care for 165 schnauzers rescued from deplorable conditions

PEYTON, Colo. (KRDO) – What started as an ordinary June day for staff members at National Mill Dog Rescue (NMDR) in Peyton quickly turned into one of the largest and most heartbreaking rescue operations in the organization’s history.

NMDR says it started when a call came in requesting help with an animal seizure from a commercial breeder. What NMDR’s team walked into, they say, will stay with them forever: 165 miniature schnauzers living in conditions so severe, the dogs were nearly unrecognizable.

"So matted, so broken, so far gone, we couldn’t recognize their breed. Every breath, every step hurt them," the rescue said in a post to social media. "You could feel the years of pain in their eyes."

The team returned to the Peyton shelter at 10:45 p.m. that night with four trucks, loaded with rescued dogs covered in intensely matted, filthy fur.

Due to an ongoing criminal case, not many details can currently be made public about the conditions these dogs were found in, but the shelter is making sure to share every detail of their rehabilitation and recovery in the meantime.

NMDR said the dogs in the most dire conditions were sent to immediately receive emergency grooming. Staff and volunteer groomers worked through the night, carefully shaving and cleaning the dogs, many of whom had never received basic care in their lives.

Over the next 72 hours, NMDR said its staff members removed 168 pounds of matted, filthy fur from 110 of the most severely neglected Schnauzers – an average of more than 1.5 pounds per dog.

With the mats gone, the dogs were finally able to begin their journey toward recovery.

"These are dogs who were once buried in mats and filth, now able to move, breathe, and rest in comfort," the shelter said in a post to social media. "While final cosmetic grooming is still underway this week, the instant comfort these dogs felt is written all over their sweet, grateful faces."

While legal restrictions initially limited the scope of care to only the most medically urgent grooming, the dogs have since been officially surrendered, NMDR said, clearing the way for full grooming and medical evaluations.

The shelter said this week, they'll be bathed – likely for the first time in their lives.

Thanks to rescue partners, at least 50 of the dogs will soon be headed to partner shelters to increase their chances of finding homes quickly, NMDR said.

"You may not see all of them here at NMDR, but please know – they are going somewhere full of hope, love, and second chances," the shelter said. "Stay tuned—because their journeys are just beginning. First baths, first sunshine, first steps toward the life they’ve always deserved."

NMDR shared a video documenting the intense, 3-day grooming process. Watch below:

The images the shelter has shared so far show stark before-and-after transformations: dogs buried in mats and filth, now clean, alert and visibly relieved.

On social media, NMDR thanked its team of staff, volunteers and grooming professionals who worked around the clock to provide immediate care, as well as organizations and businesses such as the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region and Woodmen Nissan, which donated supplies and vehicles to help with the massive rescue.

You can donate to the dogs’ continued recovery here.

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