Vets deliver puppy with six legs and two tails and have never seen anything like it before
Skipper is an extra special dog. The Aussie/Collie mix has gone viral for her abnormal body, one that no puppy had ever been born with before.
The pup has four back legs, two front legs, and two tails. She even has multiple functioning organs from the waist down.
The “miracle pup”
Animals experts have never seen anything like her, and have called her a “miracle.”
âWhat we think happened with her, is that sometime during development when the body normally starts patterning itself so you get this mirror image, she started trying to split- almost like trying to form a twin, and it just didnât one hundred percent complete itself,â Vet Dr Everd told KFOR Oklahomaâs News 4.
Skipper was born in February of 2021 and is otherwise thriving just like any puppy. Amazing for a dog that they didn’t even think would survive.
The Neel Veterinary Hospital in Oklahoma City shared photos of her on Facebook, saying:
“She has survived longer than we suspect any other canine has (at just 4 days old – published research does not indicate one has been born alive) with her combination of congenital conditions…”
“She has a type of congenital conjoining disorder called monocephalus dipygus and monocephalus rachipagus dibrachius tetrapus which simply means she has 1 head and chest cavity but 2 pelvic regions, 2 lower urinary tracts, 2 reproductive systems, 2 tails and 6 legs among other things. It is likely that she was going to have a litter mate but they did not separate in utero.”
A normal life?
No one can predict what the first puppy born alive with these conditions will be like, but the vets want to make sure she doesn’t live in misery or pain.
Skipper has signs of spina bifida and may need physical therapy and mobility assistance as she ages, but they plan to continue monitoring her during regular check-ups. She got the all-clear to go home and grow up as normally as possible with her 8 littermates.
When the vets last posted, they said she was doing well, eating plenty of food, and able to move around.
A wonderful life
Regardless of how long Skipper lives, she’ll no doubt be treated like a queen.
When her story went viral, the dog-biscuit company Milk-Bone decided to give her a lifetime supply of treats and even offered to help cover her medical bills! (We imagine those could be pretty high for the first dog born of its kind with lots of birth defects.)
She’s a little over a month old now and all of her milestones are being recorded on Skipperâs Journey Facebook page.
As of the time of this story, Skipper was at the vet for a possible neurological condition but seems to be responding to medication. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for this little miracle pup!
Be sure to scroll down below to see one of the first news stories about Skipper before she became national news.
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Source: YouTube – KFOR Oklahomaâs News 4, Facebook – Skipperâs Journey, Facebook – Neel Veterinary Hospital, TODAY