Six-legged rescue puppy undergoes life-changing surgery

Ariel, a spaniel puppy who was born with 6 legs, has undergone life-changing surgery to remove her extra limbs, according to a Saturday news release from Langfords Vets in the United Kingdom.

Ariel had been found abandoned in a car park in Wales in September of last year. Rescuers quickly began fundraising efforts to help the pooch with her unique medical condition.

Ariel is a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel puppy referred to Langford Vets from Greenacres Rescue. Born with multiple birth defects including six legs and two vulvas. Ariel had surgery this week to remove her extra legs. The procedure went very well and Ariel took it all in her stride. pic.twitter.com/obqEY1Kb6O

— Langford Vets (@LangfordVets) January 20, 2024

Taken in by the Greenacres Rescue charity, Ariel was named after the Disney mermaid as her fused back legs looked like a mermaid tail, the Guardian reported.

Medical personnel comment on Ariel's condition

A spokesperson for the charity told the source, “Her additional limbs have been removed. Thankfully, having the CT [computerised tomography] images meant they did not discover anything unexpected, and although it wasn’t a regular amputation, it was ‘uneventful’.

“When we spoke, she was in recovery, having lots of love and fuss from the nursing team but all be reassured she’s doing well. We really hope she will now have an easy and quick recovery.”

Mikey Lawlor, the founder and manager of Greenacres Rescue, told the BBC: “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.”

Pending Ariel’s recovery comes along swimmingly, she will be allowed to return to her foster family in a matter of weeks.

Vicki Black, the Langford Vets hospital director, said: “Ariel was a complicated little dog whose care required close collaboration across a number of our specialist-led teams including orthopaedics, soft-tissue surgery, anaesthesia and radiology.

“We are delighted such a lovely dog has recovered from her surgery well.

As part of the University of Bristol, we are a centre committed to career-long learning and are proud to innovate and treat pets like Ariel.

“Ariel deservedly has many devoted supporters. It was a great pleasure to treat her and work with Greenacres Rescue.”