
“She has had no health issues or complications because of her short spine, and expect her to live a long, healthy life. Rachel Mairose/Secondhand Hounds The shelter first thought that he. He was rescued by Secondhand Hounds on Thursday in Minnesota. “She was born with a syndrome, and just like humans born with a syndrome, her body has learned to adapt and she is thriving,” Giannini said. Quasimodo, a 3-year-old German shepherd, has short spine syndrome. But that hasn’t stopped her from doing everything her dog friends do. Giannini swore that Tilly would never feel unwanted again.Īs Tilly grew, her short spine became more apparent. “She fit perfectly inside my hand, and as we drove home from where I picked her up, she lay in my lap and looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and I knew she needed me and I needed her.” “When I got her, she was this dirty little fluff ball,” Giannini said. When Tilly was placed in Giannini’s arms, she couldn’t believe anyone wouldn’t want such a precious pup. Tilly was born with short spine syndrome, a rare condition where her compressed vertebrae make her look like she has no neck and an unusually short back. “I had already fallen in love with her and planned out our next year together in my head before he was even done saying that awful statement.” “When I arrived, they had told me one of the puppies was deformed and they could not find her a home, which could lead to euthanization,” Giannini told The Dodo. Giannini didn’t care that Tilly wasn’t a “normal” puppy - to her, different was good. Giannini had answered an online advertisement regarding a litter of puppies that were being given away, but one of them was different. Indeed, Mojo is a playful bundle of energy.When Anna Marie Giannini met Tilly, she knew the Tibetan spaniel puppy was special. Everyone decided that Robin and her family would be able to provide the best care for Mojo in addition to being a former vet, Robin had much experience with senior dogs.īecause Robin lived in Florida, she and Rachel met halfway in Nashville to bring Mojo to his new home-forever this time.Īccording to Robin, in spite of Mojo’s condition, he’s “pretty normal, basically.” Thankfully, a retired veterinarian by the name of Robin Stamey asked about the short-spine dog.
#Short spine dog update
He needed to update his vaccinations and get urgent dental treatment, not to mention deal with the health issues that come with growing old. When she brought the dog to the vet, however, Rachel found he has not attended medical consultations for a while.

Rachel Bryant, who lived two hours away, reached out to Julie and offered to take in Mojo. Still, she posted about the dog on her Facebook page once more. Julie knew that with his advanced age and his disorder, she might have a difficult time re-homing him. Her family wanted help in finding a new home for Mojo.īy the time his former owner passed away due to cancer, Mojo was already ten years old-elderly in dog years. But one day, Julie got a message that Maria had died of a terminal illness. Julie and Maria kept in touch for several years, sharing news of their short-spine angels. The genetic condition is so rare, it meant that Quasimodo was only one of 13 dogs in the entire world known to have the affliction. That was all that was known about his past when he ended up in a shelter. Soon, a woman named Maria Rell expressed an interest in adopting the border collie. Meet Quasimodo, The Dog With A Rare Short Spine Syndrome MaQuasimodo was a stray down in the south with Short Spine Syndrome. LeRoy was working as an animal control officer in Durham, North Carolina, at the time Cuda, who has a condition known as 'short spine syndrome,' came into her life. X-rays from a vet revealed Cuda has normal-sized organs smooshed into a compact cavity. Mojo first came into contact with Julie LeRoy, who maintains a Facebook page for her own short-spine dog, Cuda, when someone posted Mojo’s picture and information on the page. Cudas unusual physique is due to whats called 'short spine syndrome'. He’s originally from an animal shelter located in Ohio.

One of them is Mojo, a border collie who has been to quite a few homes. This condition is so rare that it appears in only approximately 30 dogs in the world. Dogs with this disorder have a severely compressed spinal cord, so they look shorter than most dogs.

Short spine syndrome is an uncommon genetic disorder found in canines.
