Puppy Born With Six Legs, Is This Too Cute or Creepy (You Decide)

Puppies are adorable. Of this there can be no debate. It doesn’t matter what breed, color, or temperament. We’d cuddle with any and all of the little fur babies. But a newborn border collie and Australian shepherd mix named Skipper has us questioning everything we thought we knew about our love for canines.

Skipper is a puppy born in a litter of eight brothers and sisters. But she has a trait that makes her…quite unique. Or just creepy. She has six legs.

“This is a miracle named Skipper. Literally,” Neel Veterinary Hospital in Oklahoma wrote on its Facebook page on February 21. “She has survived longer than we suspect any other canine has (at just 4 days old – published research does not indicate one has been born alive) with her combination of congenital conditions. You might notice she looks a little different – 6 legs!”

The strange birth defect is the result of a list of health problems as long as puppy’s tail. Skipper has hamonocephalus dipygus and monocephalus rachipagus dibrachius tetrapus, meaning she has one head and chest cavity but got double the pelvic regions, lower urinary tracts, reproductive organs, and tails than the average pooch. Oh, and the six limbs.

All this happened because Skipper had a twin in utero, but when the embryo split, it didn’t completely separate in two, so only the back half of her duplicated.

And yet, the vet says: “She is strong girl! She loves to nurse and is able to scoot around just like a regular puppy. We think that she may have some things to overcome, but she is determined right now and thriving. Our veterinarians and her family don’t see any reason not to give her the best chance a great life.”

We hope Skipper has a long, healthy, happy life…but if we see her at the dog park, we can’t guarantee that we’ll give her a hug.

Cover Photo: Facebook

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