Darwin is looking for a special home!

Darwin was born in June 2008, one of a litter of 12 AKC registered German Shepherd puppies.  Of the litter there were two born with hindlimb deformities – Darwin survived, his  sister died at 5 weeks of age.  

Darwin is a happy, pain free, and active dog.  He is being fostered in a house with three other German Shepherds with the same deformities and has no idea that he is any different to other dogs.  Darwin walks, runs (bunnyhops) and plays, although inside does tend to pull himself round on his butt.  He is housetrained, crate trained and gets on great with dogs and people, loving to lie on the floor and be stroked. 

The cause of his deformities is unknown at this time, although current thought is that this is a new neurologic abnormality (motor neuron disease) in German Shepherd dogs.  There is no surgical “fix” for dogs with these deformities; however they are all very well adapted and live normal lives.  Unfortunately there are other diseases, including Neospora and Toxoplasmosis, which can result in the same deformities.  For this reason, before Darwin can be adopted he needs to see a specialist, and have radiographs and a variety of lab tests run.

For information on adopting Darwin please e-mail info@straightlegshepherds.org.  If you would like to donate to help with Darwin's medical bills please click the Chip In widget below.