Six-legged abandoned dog 'doing well' after successful operation to remove additional limbs
20 January 2024, 18:54 | Updated: 20 January 2024, 19:01
A six-legged dog, who was abandoned in a car park, has successfully undergone surgery to remove her extra limbs.
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Ariel, a spaniel puppy, is "doing well", vets said, after she was found discarded by her previous owner at just 11-weeks old.
The unique puppy, born with multiple birth defects including two vulvas and one kidney, was found in Pembroke town centre in September last year.
A fundraising appeal raised a total of £15,000 for her surgery after news of her abandonment broke.
The dog was taken in by the Greenacres Rescue charity, near Haverfordwest, and has been cared for by a foster family.
She was named after Disney's Little Mermaid character because her partially fused extra back legs resembled a mermaid's tail.
Her operation to remove her two additional legs was carried out at Langford Vets Small Animal Referral Hospital in Somerset.
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A spokesman for the charity said: "Her additional limbs have been removed. Thankfully having the CT images meant they did not discover anything unexpected and although it wasn't a regular amputation it was 'uneventful'.
"When we spoke she was in recovery, having lots of love and fuss from the nursing team but all be reassured she's doing well.
"We really hope she will now have an easy and quick recovery."
Vicki Black, hospital director at Langford Vets Small Animal Referral Hospital, added: "Ariel was a complicated little dog whose care required close collaboration across a number of our specialist led teams including orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, anaesthesia and radiology.
"We are delighted such a lovely dog has recovered from her surgery well.
"As part of the University of Bristol we are a centre committed to career-long learning and are proud to innovate and treat pets like Ariel.
"Ariel deservedly has many devoted supporters, it was a great pleasure to treat her and work with Greenacres Rescue."
