BOSTON -- Veterinarians are looking for the owners of a Pekinese dog that died after becoming trapped by his own fur in a bizarre case of animal neglect, Boston TV station WCVB reported.

The male Pekinese was found abandoned March 6 and unable to move or walk because his fur was so severely matted. The dog was taken to an animal hospital but could not be saved and died a few days later.

"This is probably one of the most extreme cases of neglect we've encountered in our practice," said Susan Rosenblatt, chief of staff at Kindness Animal Hospital. "We're concerned that there may be other animals in the same household that are being similarly neglected."

The Pekinese was between 9 and 12 years old, tan and blind in his right eye. The left eye had been surgically removed. The dog's fur had grown and become so completely matted around its body that the dog was trapped within itself.

"The mats were so big and thick that an open safety pin, which appeared on an X-ray we took, couldn't be found after we clipped his fur," Rosenblatt said.

"His ears, which are normally less than 3 inches long, were nearly a foot long with the mats. Matted fur also pulls on the skin, causing a great deal of irritation and pain," she said.

The dog's muscles had atrophied because it was unable to move for so long and his nails had grown in a complete circle because they had not been cut in years, the vets said.

The dog's teeth were also rotten and he had pneumonia.