Saturday, September 24, 2011

Rescued from the trash can: Harper the deformed puppy is back on his feet again

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Back on his feet: Harper the deformed puppy is on the road to recovery after being plucked from the trash can

A deformed puppy rescued from a garbage bag has finally learnt to walk.

Little Harper was saved from a certain death when a woman in Sanford, Florida, saw a man selling pit-bull puppies outside a Save-A-Lot holding a squirming trash bag.

When she asked him what was in the bag he at first refused to show her but he finally handed over the bag containing a puppy so deformed it couldn’t walk or hold up its head.


Flat out: Harper was born with a condition commonly called 'swimmer puppy syndrome', which meant she had a flattened chest wall and could not walk or hold her head up


Bright eyes: The little dog is enjoying a new lease of life after his traumatic ordeal

Veterinarians and shelter workers all agreed the dog should be euthanized.
But all was not lost for little Harper, Erica Daniel, a regular at the local animal shelter, stepped in and decided to take the puppy home for one full and final day of love and affection.

She told Today.com: 'I had to show her what it was like to be loved.
'I’d planned on taking her home that night, letting her sleep in bed with us, and having her humanely euthanized in the morning.'


Deformed: When Harper was born her limbs splayed out so her chest was on the ground and she couldn't stand up or even raise her head

Harper’s speedy recovery began on that first day with Daniel. The puppy had been born with a condition commonly dubbed “swimmer puppy disorder,” and most dogs afflicted with it don’t survive.

The disorder, pectus excavatum, causes puppies to lie flat on their chests with their legs perpetually splayed out, as if they were humans — or perhaps frogs — swimming through water.

'The longer she was like that, the more she stayed in that position,' Daniel said. 'It felt like rigor mortis — like her legs might break.'


Fighting fit: Vets and shelter workers said she should be put down but eleven weeks later the pit bull puppy is going strong


Water baby: She was born with a condition dubbed 'swimmer puppy syndrome' which causes them to lie flat on their chests


Rehabilitated: The puppy can now walk on nearly all surfaces but still needs lots of sleep to keep her energy up


Naturally curious: Most dogs with Harper's condition don't survive but the puppy has shown fighting spirit and has defied the odds

Earlier this year Daniel set up Dolly’s Foundation, named after another dog she rescued. The organisation rescues and rehabilitates homeless, neglected and abused American Pit Bull Terriers and other bully breed dogs, and it has plenty of puppies and dogs available for adoption.

source: dailymail


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