Little Miss Roo

Thanks, Mauro, for sending this story.

From the Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary blog:

Introducing ... Little Miss Roo

Please welcome our newest arrival, an adorable 9-month old female Chihuahua named Roo who came yesterday. She was born without her front legs. A local rescue group, Riverside Rescue in Lunenburg, Vermont, had a breeder show up at their door last Tuesday with Roo. Sharon from Riverside Rescue emailed me on Wednesday to ask if we could take her, and we said yes. So Sharon dropped Roo off at our vet clinic in Whitefield for a medical check-up and a spay, and then on Saturday, Kim from the clinic was kind enough to bring her out to us.

We're not sure who named her Roo -- we think it was the breeder -- presumably because she looks a bit like a kangaroo when she's up on her back legs:

Although she can hop around, she doesn't stay up for long and ends up scooting around on her chest. So we will be contacting our friends at Doggon' Wheels for a quad wheelchair for this little girl. Then she'll look like a kangaroo in a go-cart!

Yes, we do know about Faith, the two-legged dog who's made the rounds on the Internet for a number of years now. Faith basically walks on her back legs and does just fine that way. But Roo isn't able to do that -- she can hop a couple of times on her back legs, or maybe four or five times if she gets really excited, but soon she has to drop to the ground and rest on her chest. Then she'll hop and slide, using her chest to balance herself as she moves forward. So far she doesn't have pressure sores, but her chest is bald in that spot and thus a problem would develop in time if we let it.

However, this doesn't really matter as far as Roo is concerned, because the only place she wants to be is in our arms, not hopping around on the floor! She is a total lovebug, and her little tail twitters so fast you think it might just fall off. If I walk over to her when she's on the bed, she will hop over to my feet, stand up, lean against my leg, and look up at me. At that point it is impossible not to pick her up and hold her. (She knows this.)

Here's Roo reaching for Alayne:

She is great around the other dogs, and doesn't mind at all if they come over to check her out. But speaking of other dogs, the Dachshunds are more than a little upset that they're now facing some serious competition, i.e., they no longer have a monopoly on the "small and cute department." The Dachshunds got together last night and decided unanimously, 7-0, to vote Roo off the island. However, since this particular island is run by benevolent dictators who can ignore the wishes of certain self-interested and petulant inhabitants, we annulled the Dachshund vote and told the assembled rabble to, in effect, "get over it as fast as your short legs can carry you." They've spent much of Sunday walking by Roo and casting nervous glances over their shoulders at the tiny 5-pound (2.27 kg) thing on the bed.

Although Roo is not the first dog to arrive since we came to New Hampshire -- blind and deaf Gabe the Cocker was -- she is our first-ever New England dog. So please say hello to little Miss Roo!

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Good luck, Roo! We hope you use those ears only for good.

Don't forget to cast your vote today for Walkin' the Bark Rescue in Concord, CA in the Shelter Challenge. Vote every day through December 19, 2010. Anything we win will help pay for a wheelchair for handicapped pets whose guardians cannot afford to purchase one on their own.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces