Horrified owner takes dog to groomers and it comes back looking like Pennywise

The beloved canine was shaved down to the skin due to the dog’s fur being extremely matted. The only fur left was around the dog’s head which gave it a very peculiar ‘hairstyle’.

Several commenters were quick to compare the dog's new look to the terrifying villain from Stephen King's novel.

"Pennywise the Dog," one Reddit user commented.

They weren't the only person who notice the spooky similarity.

"Looks like Pennywise," declared another.

Pennywise is the dancing and shapeshifting clown which preys upon children in the town of Derry, Maine. He has a rather awful red hairstyle, with more hair splayed from the sides than at the top of his head.

The infamous evil entity was portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation of King’s 1986 novel. More recently, Bill Skarsgård played the infamous clown in the 2017 film adaption and its sequel two years later.

We can all agree he looked absolutely terrifying in character.

Judging by the before and after pictures of the poor dog's fur, it looks like Skarsgård now has some serious competition.

Meanwhile, lots of dog lovers said it was the owner's fault why their dog now looks like a fictional sadistic clown.

One commenter, who is said to be married to a dog groomer, said: "Dog groomer's spouse here. I hear horror stories about Doodles at least twice a day.

"Apparently like 1 out of every 5-10 are so matted underneath the top coat that they need to be shaved down.

"My wife gets cussed out almost every time this happens, even though they tell owners (and even send out fucking letters) about regularly brushing their doodle."

Someone with grooming experience also weighed in on the importance of keeping your dog's fur in tip top shape - and it's not only to avoid them resembling a Stephen King character, either.

"Former groomer here," they began. "This s**t is BAD. I have never met so many people in denial and incapable of understanding that you need to f**king brush a dog that does not shed or you're getting a f**king shave down.

"Dematting is a very strenuous process on both the dog and the groomer. It can take up to 4 hours to demat a dog. Sometimes longer.

"Then the owners wonder why the groom is $250-300 instead of $50-80. I could have washed and groomed 4 dogs in the time it took me to demat your dog.

"You can imagine how fun it is to have a dog try to bite you and be scared of you every time they come to get groomed."

We're sure the owner has learned a very valuable lesson indeed.