A neighbor reached out to Jessica Kincheloe and a fellow groomer to help a dog after its owner had fallen terminally ill.

What they found was a Great Pyrenees trapped in a barn, filthy and covered with pounds of overgrown hair. According to The Dodo, they had to clear a mound of dirt and feces to open the door to free the poor dog.

But a locked door wasn’t the only thing that the pup, renamed Lazarus, needed freeing from. The groomers went on to remove over 35 pounds of heavy, matted hair from his body.

His nervousness and unfamiliarity with affection made his rescuers believe that this was the first time he been shown love by humans. But as the weight of his knotted fur and his past fell behind him, Lazarus began to relax around his them.

“He was OK with the human touch but didn’t seem familiar to it. He warmed up to us really quick. Especially after offering treats,” Kincheloe told The Dodo.

He even had to learn how to walk without all that heavy hair!

Amanda Brooke Charsha-Lindsey, volunteer coordinator for the Big Fluffy Dog Rescue in Nashville, Tennessee, stepped in to foster Laz. In her home, he is learning his most important lesson: how to be a beloved family pet.

As a dog foster and rescue worker, Charsha-Lindsey has seen the worst. But this optimistic animal lover wants to remind everyone that in order to help Laz and other animals like him, it’s important to focus on the future rather than dwell on the past. On a Facebook post, she wrote:

I sincerely hope Laz makes you smile as much as he does me and others I know. He is a sweet boy. It is rare a single pup garners this much attention to adoption and is great for awareness. We gotta chat though, okay? Laz’s previous owners are now terminally ill. How he ended up in the stall no longer matters, as it will do nothing to help him. Pressing matters further with them is a waste of already scarce time and money, for all involved. Justice is not ours to dole out in this case. This is about Lazarus, not them, not any person at all. This is about pulling adoption to the forefront of conversations, realizing this stuff happens anywhere you are, and making sure when you see something, you do something. Adopt from your local rescue or shelter, donate supplies, your time, or funds, open your home to an animal in need. Let’s all keep the focus on Laz. Any negative comments/conspiracy theories/physical abuse comments will be deleted automatically, as they serve no purpose. We won’t dwell in the past with him. He has too much to look forward to now to stay in the past. We all do. Goodnight from this badger face that doesn’t hold grudges.

It’s a great reminder that for every person who neglects or abuses animals, there are many more out there who care and will go out of their way to help. Bringing awareness through stories like Laz’s certainly “pulls adoption to the forefront of conversations,” as Charsha-Lindsey states.

As for Lazarus, he’s been given the perfect name, reminiscent of the man in the Bible who was brought back from the dead.

Now that he’s free, this Great Pyrenees pup has a new lease on life, and acts as the poster dog for others like him.

Isn’t he beautiful?!

Thanks to the Big Fluffy Dog Rescue for pairing Laz with the perfect foster mom, and to Charsha-Lindsey for her wonderful work rehabilitating him. He will be up for adoption through the rescue, but only when he’s fully ready.

“We are going on Laz time and it runs a bit behind,” Charsha-Lindsey told iHeartDogs.

(h/t: The Dodo)