Abandoned dog gets emergency midnight grooming session

— -- The story of Lucky the dog didn't start out lucky at all.

Abandoned near an animal shelter with fur so matted he could not walk, this pup was in a very bad way.

A plea on Facebook seen late at night by dog groomer Kari Falla, the owner of BGE Grooming in Oviedo, Florida, set in motion a series of events that may have saved Lucky's life.

"He was almost hit by a car," Falla told ABC News. Lucky, as it turns out, is blind and deaf. But that wasn't his biggest problem when he came into Falla's life.

"I offered my salon services for free immediately and told them to meet me at my salon right away. I changed out of my pajamas and headed over to my salon and began prepping for the dog's emergency visit."

Falla said Lucky was in "horrific" shape when he entered her salon at midnight.

"I knew he had to be groomed immediately because severe matting like that causes loss of blood flow and stops the circulation," she told ABC News. "I knew every second counted to help save him before his ears and tail rotted off. ... Who knows how long he's been like that. The dog was in severe pain with matting that tight. He could not feel you petting him."

Lucky had to be carried into the salon because he could not walk, Falla said.

The three-hour grooming session involved shaving and two flea baths. "It was seriously the most disturbing situation I've ever seen in my life, " Falla said. "He smelled like death. He could not walk. ... He could barely stand."

Despite all he'd been through, Lucky was open to being groomed. He "was perfect for his grooming session with me," Falla said. "It was like he knew we were helping him. He came in depressed and walked out wagging his tail!"

Lucky's luck turned around soon after: He's now in a foster home being well cared for until a forever home can be found.