Dog's unusual haircut leads to viral fame

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A dog became an online sensation after his owner posted a Twitter photo of his questionable new haircut.

Twitter user Lindsay Martin shared a photo of her usually shaggy dog Wembley sporting a lone tuft of curly hair on his head following a trip to the groomer.

"My mom just RUINED my dog and she literally said 'he wanted to keep it long on the top' I am devastated," she wrote.

Martin's photo of her dog's new hairdo quickly spread across the Internet, gathering more than 40,000 retweets and prompting comparisons to New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., celebrity chef Guy Fieri and a young Justin Timberlake.

While some found the look cute and funny, other online observers went on to call the haircut animal abuse, which Martin quickly dismissed in a series of Tweets in which she embraced Wembley's style.

"Disclaimer: it was funny and I'm not actually upset about it. There are worse things in the world and his hair will grow back," she wrote. "It is also not animal abuse to give a dog a haircut, our dogs are treated like royalty."

Martin also assured people that Wembley has a sweater to keep it warm and is typically kept inside, where he is well loved, regardless of his appearance.

"Wembley is the best dog in the world," Martin said. "Fluffy or Fieri."