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You’ve heard about Ariel the six-legged puppy who resembles a mermaid, now be prepared to meet Bella the five-legged puppy who’s “definitely a unicorn of a dog” finally finds her forever home.
Bella went home with her new mom, Melissa on Friday, May 03. The Wisconsin Humane Society shared the good news on Facebook and wrote, “her new mom, Melissa, walked in wearing a sweatshirt that read “Adopt the Special Ones.” We couldn’t agree more!”
Last month, the animal shelter shared Bella’s story on Facebook writing, “Meet Bella, the first “five-legged” dog we’ve seen in our 145 year history!”
The animal shelter shared that Bella has an extremely rare congenital disorder called dimelia. The condition is said to be characterized by the duplication of the bones.
“It’s basically like an extra leg inside her right hind leg,” the animal shelter wrote.
The Wisconsin Humane Society said that this is the organization’s first ever case of dimelia and, as far as they know, one of the very few documented cases of the condition in a dog.
They explained Bella’s condition saying, “A normal canine hind leg would have one femur, one tibia, one fibula, and 4-5 toes. X-rays of the affected leg revealed that Bella appears to have an extra femur, two tibias, two fibulas, and nine toes on her rear paw.”
WISN-TV reports that Bella was surrendered by her family in Kenosha.
Wisconsin Humane Society spokesperson Angela Speed told WISN-TV that when the organization’s veterinary team decided to get her X-rays she “reacted with thinking it was AI-generated. Somebody was playing around in Photoshop.”
The organization shared that their veterinary team considered amputation, but due to the rarity of Bella’s condition, there might be risks of complication.
Wisconsin Humane Society shared, “she’s using the limb comfortably at this time, so the recommendation was to keep the leg as-is and continue to monitor her comfort.”
They also shared that while her mobility is affected, this doesn’t let Bella affect her love for walking and running around!
“She’s definitely a unicorn of a dog,” Speed said.
While Bella has found her happily ever after, Speed hopes that Bella’s uniqueness will bring more attention to the other animals in their care that are looking for forever homes.
So, if you’re interested in adopting, you can view the animal shelter’s other animals up for adoption on www.wihumane.org/adopt.
