Photo Credit: Bonsai – Half the Bulldog, Twice the Love/Facebook
Talk about resilience, this puppy with half a body certainly exemplifies the word. Back in May, Friends of Emma, a private rescue home in Fort Worth, Texas, received a call for help from a dog owner regarding a bulldog puppy from Arkansas who was born with several deformities. After the rescuers picked the animal up and consulted various medical professionals, it was discovered that the adorable puppy named Bonsai had caudal regression and sacrocaudal dysgenesis, which resulted in malformations including half a spine, no functional pelvis and tiny contracted hind legs.
It takes some effort to be born without a bottom half and carry on smiling, but that’s exactly what this cute two-and-a-half-month bulldog puppy seems to do.
Because his hind legs caused him pain and would have continued to contract and twist as he grew, Friends of Emma decided to have his hind legs amputated. And while it left him “half a bulldog,” as his slogan says via his own Facebook page, Bonsai has continued to have a happy, outgoing spirit. He’s even become a social media star with over 30,000 fans to date on his page.
“[He’s an] 11-week-old puppy who takes on the challenges of his world as though they don’t exist,” Elizabeth Hart, one of Bonsai’s rescuers told the Huffington Post, “He’s a vibrant, silly, sweet, strong-willed — spoiled rotten.”
Bonsai is said to be recovering well but will require multiple in-depth diagnostics on his internal anatomy to help manage his conditions, including a costly MRI scan and other advanced imaging procedures. Those caring for him have yet to find a single documented case of Bonsai’s specific conditions being found in any other living animal.
Hart created a crowdfunded campaign at youcaring.com to help pay for the treatments and therapy that Bonsai has to undergo.
A post on the fundraising page said: “Bonsai is a special character and we just hope to spread the word about him and bring awareness that those born different (animals and human alike) can still MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives and hearts of many!”
