Born to Defy: Uniquely Six-Legged Puppy Proves Resilience After Heartless Car Park Abandonment

Zack Keithy, our author, is a certified veterinarian technician (UC Blue Ash) for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers including Dr M. Tarantino. Learn more about us here.

Imagine finding a puppy with six legs abandoned in a supermarket car park.

That’s exactly what happened at the Pembroke Dock branch of B&M in Pembrokeshire in UK.

This little 11-week-old female spaniel, who also has two vulvas, was left there all alone.

A passer-by discovered her in distress and quickly took her to Greenacres Rescue near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, thanks to the help of the council’s dog warden.

At Greenacres, she got a thorough check-up at Fenton Vets, where they named her Ariel, inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

The vets likened her extra back legs, which are partially fused together, to a mermaid’s tail.

“When Ariel was brought into our centre, she was very scared and timid,” shared Mikey Lawlor, Greenacres’ founder and manager. He took her home that first night because she was so traumatized. “She was almost completely shut down due to everything she’d been through,” he added.

Despite her ordeal, it didn’t seem like Ariel had been left outside for long. “It had been raining previously, but when she was found her coat was dry. She wasn’t hungry or particularly underweight,” Mikey noted.

Ariel’s extra hind legs are essentially one thigh bone that splits into two shin bones at the knee joint, but they don’t function at all.

Plus, having two hip joints on one side has prevented her pelvis from forming properly.

This means her normal back right leg has almost no muscle tone, and she might lose it too.

There was also a concern that Ariel might have duplicate internal organs, but X-rays showed that isn’t the case.

Her extra vulva will need to be removed when she’s ready for neutering.

The plan for Ariel now is to give her a month to recover from her ordeal and settle into life with a foster family.

During this time, she’ll be closely monitored to see how she progresses.

Thanks to the generosity of the public, more than £2,000 has been raised for her treatment.

“We’ve already received over 200 offers from people wanting to adopt her,” Mikey revealed, but added, “We aren’t taking applications at the moment though, not until we know for definite what the future is going to hold for her.”

This little pup’s journey is far from over, but with so much love and support, Ariel has a bright future ahead.