A dog born with six legs and other abnormalities was saved by a UK animal sanctuary.
Greenacres Rescue at Ebbs Acres Farm in Pembrokeshire announced on Facebook that a female spaniel puppy with six legs was “handed in to a local veterinary practice” on Sept. 27 after being found abandoned in the parking lot of the B&M home improvement and garden store chain’s Pembroke Dock location.
In the meantime, the charity urged the owner or anybody with knowledge of the animal to come forward, saying that they would start a diagnosis and treatment plan with their vets.
The rescue said that they are hoping she can live a normal life if her tests prove favorable.
Greenacres stated the next day on Facebook that internally [the dog] is normal and her organs are all as they should be.
They have no idea why she would have been born with a defect, Mikey Lawlor of Greenacres stated. Never seen this before.
Lawlor went on to say that the puppy was called Ariel after the heroine from The Little Mermaid because her “extra legs look like a tail.”
The vets’ evaluation of Ariel was published on Facebook by the rescue, who stated that she has two additional back legs and the beginnings of an additional vulva. Because of the additional hip joint, her pelvis has not grown properly.
According to the rescue, Ariel will be evaluated again in a month with the goal of removing the additional limbs and exploring the function of her remaining leg.
There is a risk she may lose one of her own legs due to the structure of the additional limbs and pelvis, but time will tell, the organization said in a statement. For the time being, they can relax and let her be a puppy. She faces a lengthy road of surgery and rehabilitation, but they are convinced that they will ‘get her right,’ and that is all that matters.
The extra appendages do not impede her ability to move, although since they are on her pelvis, they will cause damage over time, Lawlor stated in an interview.
Ariel has settled into her foster home perfectly, and they are now looking at beginning her vaccinations, the shelter said on Facebook on Thursday.