#DOGS WITH SHORT SPINE SYNDROME HOW TO#
#DOGS WITH SHORT SPINE SYNDROME SKIN#

“I had just chocked it up to inbreeding.” Cuda’s spine is fused and curved.Įventually, LeRoy created a Facebook profile for her unique pup, documenting Cuda’s daily life. “We thought she was the only one in the world for the longest time,” explains LeRoy. “The vet couldn’t find anything else odd,” she remembers, adding that Cuda was not in any pain, despite her compressed appearance. Her new pup was happy and healthy, but LeRoy still wondered if her physical deformities would shorten her life or cause her pain in the future. Within two days of taking Cuda home, LeRoy sought medical attention for the pup, who needed to be spayed. “But there she was, and I just put her in my arms,” says LeRoy, who has never regretted her decision to adopt Cuda. A small part of her hoped that the couple would decide to keep Cuda after all. Unsure of the extent of the dog’s special needs, LeRoy began to feel nervous. In the meantime, she began texting her husband, who was initially against the idea as the LeRoys already had four dogs at home.Įventually, her spouse relented over text message, and LeRoy began mentally preparing herself to go back for the strange-looking puppy. The couple told LeRoy they needed to get rid of the dog right away, so she promised to come back after her shift. “I just thought, ‘I cannot bring this dog to the shelter they’re not going to understand.’ It was a high-kill shelter - they’re going to euthanize her.” She was shocked, and LeRoy knew this pup would not survive for long in the shelter system. The couple had mentioned the dog’s underbite, but they hadn’t prepared LeRoy for the extent of Cuda’s differences. When the little puppy was brought out, LeRoy couldn’t believe her eyes. “They had just had her for only two weeks, and they had bought her on Craigslist from a backyard breeder.” It was love at first sight for Julie LeRoy and Cuda.

#DOGS WITH SHORT SPINE SYNDROME HOW TO#

Quasi is unable to turn his head, but otherwise his condition doesn’t affect his day-to-day activities.Īnderson said, “He gets around just fine and knows exactly how to snuggle to fit into a lap.“The couple - complainants - had asked me if I wanted to see her,” she recalls. “Born different but never knowing any other way, he seeks to please the people who have shown him kind hands and warm hearts,” Anderson said. Named after the “Hunchback of Notre Dame” character, Quasi is one of only 13 known dogs in the world with short spine syndrome, a genetic condition, according to Secondhand Hounds. Sara Anderson, the large-breed foster coordinator for the shelter, said she was contacted to take Quasi because of her love of special-needs dogs.

The dog was taken in by Secondhand Hounds, an animal shelter in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Quasi was also seen by a human geneticist at University of California, who is studying his blood to find out what causes short spine syndrome. His back cannot be surgically repaired,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “Quasi is missing a couple of vertebra in his back, but that is not causing him pain. He will be seeing a specialist to fix what is called a screw tail, a vertebrae deformity in the tail.

#DOGS WITH SHORT SPINE SYNDROME SKIN#

Quasi had his neck clipped and cleaned to help the skin heal from his collar wound and he was neutered. On Monday, Secondhand Hounds updated Quasi’s 50,000 fans on Facebook on the pup’s health and medical treatments. Quasimodo, a purebred German shepherd with short spine syndrome, is gaining fans online with his story. A stunted dog with a rare condition is looking for a home.

Dogs with short spine syndrome