Neo was so badly matted and "felted" when rescued that his entire coat had to be carefully and patiently cut off by carefully inserting scissors between the densly felted upper layer and his tender vulnerable skin. It came off in practially one piece. Felting results when caretakers merely comb the surface without getting down all the way to the skin, thus leaving matting beneath the surface, and then give the dog a bath. Bathing makes the mats coalesce into "felt."
 
For a look at Neo just after intake and before he was shorn, click on Neo at Intake.
 
Underneath the pelt were abut a dozen foxtail abcesses, most of which were "walled off" by fibrous tissue. Neo underwent several foxtail removals under local anethesia and two multiple removals under general anesthesia. One of the lumps took an hour to remove surgically! I know because I was there watching. All of this misery could have been prevented by regular grooming, and keeping him foxtail free could have been made easier by keeping his coat in a short clip during the foxtail season. In most of California foxtails are a great problem during the dry summers, but a Bouv can be comfortable in a 1/2" to 1" lenght coat during all of the year (except in the Sierras in winter).