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Ariel, the six-legged Cocker Spaniel who was abandoned in a parking lot in Pembroke Dock, UK, finally undergoes surgery to remove her extra limbs.
Greenacres Rescue, the animal shelter that took the puppy in, was able to raise £15,000 (about $19,000) for Ariel’s life-changing operation, the BBC reports.
And on January 18, Ariel was able to finally undergo surgery at Small Animal Referral Hospital Langford Vets to remove her extra limbs.
Despite having other problems such as having two vulvas and only one kidney, the operation was described as ‘uneventful’.
The surgeon who operated on the pooch, Aaron Lutchman, tells BBC, “She’s doing really well, she’s bounced back and she’s a happy little dog and we’re hoping she’s going to go on to lead a fabulous little life.”
“She’s got her own little character and even though she’s had a tough start in life she really has done well to come through this as she has… if we can do what we can to help then that’s just absolutely brilliant.”
Talking to BBC, Mikey Lawlor, founder and manager of Greenacres Rescue, revealed, “There were two procedures which lasted about two hours, but both went fine.”
“The next day she was up, walking around and eating and drinking. Now we just need to keep our fingers crossed she doesn’t get any infections, but she really is in the best hands,” he added.
In the shelter’s latest update, they shared that Ariel is ‘quietly recovering’ in her foster home.
“And when we say quietly, more like restricted as she wants to go back to life as it was, running and playing with her canine friends but until healed she must take it easy,” the shelter explained.
And while the shelter is thankful for all the people wanting to adopt Ariel, they said Ariel is not yet ready for adoption.
“She will now have a recovery period and then is likely to need a Physiotherapy plan before finding her forever home,” the shelter said in another update.
The shelter also took this opportunity to thank everyone who has been part of the pooch’s journey.
They wrote, “The public’s generosity has known no bounds in this case, and by supporting our work it ensures that we can ALWAYS be there for cases like Ariel.”
Furthermore, Langford Vets’ hospital director Vicki Black tells BBC, “Ariel was a complicated little dog whose care required close collaboration across a number of our specialist teams, including orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, anaesthesia and radiology.”
“We are delighted such a lovely animal has recovered well from her surgery,” she continued.
Ariel was named after Disney’s Littler Mermaid character due to her partially fused extra back legs that resembled a mermaid’s tail.
And the puppy made headlines in September last year after being abandoned in a parking lot and being taken to an animal shelter.
