| Before he had a home, Shankly wandered the | | | | enable the dog to turn around and bite back. At |
| streets of London hungry and lost. He was alone, | | | | one point they were close to extinction, and were |
| in poor health, and no one seemed to care that | | | | listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as |
| his face was full of sagging wrinkles that | | | | 'The rarest dog in the world'," according to |
| hampered his vision. | | | | Wikipedia. |
| Thanks to some kindhearted doctors, Shankly got | | | | In Shankly's case, however, his wrinkles had |
| a new home and a £1,000 facelift that | | | | become so saggy that they blinded him. But the |
| matched those of Hollywood movie stars. He not | | | | staff at the London animal rescue charity changed |
| only looks good but sees better these days - and | | | | all that in an hour-long operation that restored his |
| it's all because of the good people at Battersea | | | | sight and his good looks. |
| Dogs and Cats Home. | | | | "It is only the second time in my two-year career |
| Yes, handsome Shankly (named after the | | | | that I have carried out this operation. Although |
| legendary Liverpool football manager Bill Shankly) | | | | Shankly's wrinkles are very typical of the breed, |
| is a dog and he has been rescued from a bad | | | | the trouble was that he was completely blinded |
| case of wrinkles! | | | | by the folds of skin that covered his eyes, so the |
| "The poor pooch was brought into Battersea | | | | way of giving him his sight back was to carry out |
| Dogs and Cats Home after being picked up | | | | a face-lift. The operation demonstrates the first |
| wandering the streets earlier this year, despite | | | | class veterinary care Battersea gives to all our |
| the fact that as a puppy he would have cost | | | | animals, even if their requirements are a little |
| around £700," said the Daily Mail. | | | | unusual," said head vet Dr. Shaun Opperman. |
| Shankly is a Shar Pei, one of the most ancient | | | | But Shankly's luck was just beginning. With the |
| dog breeds that originated in China where it was | | | | help of Shar Pei Rescue and Welfare, the popular |
| well-known as a fighting and guard dog. The dog | | | | pooch got a new home and now lives with |
| has deep wrinkles and a blue-black tongue. Puppies | | | | 39-year-old carpenter Adrian Duncan and his |
| are born with wrinkles that eventually disappear | | | | family. |
| as they "grow into their skin." | | | | "When we first drove up to Battersea Dogs and |
| "Originally, the intense loyalty of the Shar Pei | | | | Cats Home to see Shankly he was very thin and |
| defined its work - guarding the Chinese royal | | | | covered in scars and stitches but we fell in love |
| family. The dogs are ideally suited for defense; | | | | with him straight away. In our eyes he is |
| the small ears and deep-set eyes are tough to | | | | absolutely gorgeous and we wouldn't have him |
| grab and if grabbed on the skin, the wrinkles | | | | any other way," Duncan said. |