“There was actually an 18th or 19th century painter who featured one in a painting.” This photo of Cuda would actually make a pretty painting. It’s a congenital anomaly,” explains LeRoy, who has done extensive research on short-spine syndrome and says the rare condition was first identified centuries ago. LeRoy now knows of 11 short-spine dogs worldwide, the oldest one being 13 years old. The Italian dog’s human helped LeRoy learn more about short-spine syndrome and track down other dogs with the condition. That dog’s located in Italy,” says LeRoy, who also found out about Pig, another famous short-spine dog, through the social network. “I found another dog like her about seven months after I first put her online. Social media proved to be the key to finding out more about what caused Cuda to look the way she did. “I had just chocked it up to inbreeding.” Cuda’s spine is fused and curved.Įventually, LeRoy created a Facebook profile for her unique pup, documenting Cuda’s daily life. “We thought she was the only one in the world for the longest time,” explains LeRoy. “The vet couldn’t find anything else odd,” she remembers, adding that Cuda was not in any pain, despite her compressed appearance. Her new pup was happy and healthy, but LeRoy still wondered if her physical deformities would shorten her life or cause her pain in the future. Within two days of taking Cuda home, LeRoy sought medical attention for the pup, who needed to be spayed. “But there she was, and I just put her in my arms,” says LeRoy, who has never regretted her decision to adopt Cuda. A small part of her hoped that the couple would decide to keep Cuda after all. Unsure of the extent of the dog’s special needs, LeRoy began to feel nervous. In the meantime, she began texting her husband, who was initially against the idea as the LeRoys already had four dogs at home.Įventually, her spouse relented over text message, and LeRoy began mentally preparing herself to go back for the strange-looking puppy. The couple told LeRoy they needed to get rid of the dog right away, so she promised to come back after her shift. “I just thought, ‘I cannot bring this dog to the shelter they’re not going to understand.’ It was a high-kill shelter - they’re going to euthanize her.” She was shocked, and LeRoy knew this pup would not survive for long in the shelter system. The couple had mentioned the dog’s underbite, but they hadn’t prepared LeRoy for the extent of Cuda’s differences. When the little puppy was brought out, LeRoy couldn’t believe her eyes. “They had just had her for only two weeks, and they had bought her on Craigslist from a backyard breeder.” It was love at first sight for Julie LeRoy and Cuda. You may also want to see this news article about Quasi.“The couple - complainants - had asked me if I wanted to see her,” she recalls. And of course, here is Image creditfor the above image. In the video below, Secondhand Hounds says that they had to capture him with a live trap as he was skittish. The dog’s neck and tail will likely be impacted by this as well, and dogs may also be lacking ribs.
![short spine syndrome dog short spine syndrome dog](https://keyassets-p2.timeincuk.net/wp/prod/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/02/h_02444095-630x480.jpg)
Some vertebrae may even fuse together, leading to stiffness in what would normally be a very flexible dog. Since the vertabrae is compressed the spine is shortened. Dogs with this syndrome have vertebrae which remain mostly in their cartilage form instead of hardening to form bone. The syndrome only affects approximately 15 dogs world wide, of which, many dogs are greyhounds. In dogs, Short Spine Syndrome is a severe shortening of the vertebral column or spine due to the compression of vertebrae. This dog suffers from a very rare disease called Short Spine Syndrome. “Quasi The Great” is a German Shepherd named after Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, due to his short spine.