It’s nice to have someone to lean on when times are tough – and for young people, that’s usually a best friend. But 15-year-old Luke from Kent, England didn’t have that luxury.
He has psoriasis, a condition shared by millions of people around the world – but one that got him bullied at school.
Luke’s mother Lauren Salmon told SWNS News that while her family already has pets at home – a Jack Russell, two cats, and two French Lop rabbits – her son spotted a dog online that he immediately took a liking to. And that dog would change his life.
It was an eight-week-old Labrador mix from a breeder in Essex.
No doubt she was more affordable than the rest – the pup had a genetic deformity. She was born with 6 legs.
Salmon agreed to take the trip to meet the dog and the puppy came “bounding out” of her pen when Luke approached to pick her up.
It was love at first sight. Luke wasn’t at all bothered by her two extra front legs.
“Roo” went home with the Salmon family in the summer of 2019 and has now found a happy, loving family to take good care of her.
And Luke has found a best friend – after all, he knows what it’s like to feel left out because of a condition you can’t control.
“It was love at first sight for Luke and for Roo from then on,” Salmon told SWNS. “Luke is like a protective father. They never leave each other’s sides and she even sleeps in his bed.”
The family just considers Roo “extra” special and she fit right in with Luke’s 3 siblings as well.
“We absolutely love Roo to pieces. She’s is just a normal dog to us, just with a couple of extra bits. Her special legs don’t cause her any pain, and it’s easy to see just how full of life she is,” Salmon said. “She’s full of puppy energy, so we’d describe her as placid but playful.”
Of course, it’s not common to see a dog with 6 legs.
Salmon believes that many of them simply don’t survive long after birth, but that’s it’s a human decision, not Nature’s.
“There are not many dogs like Roo out there. I think the breeders kill them off because they’re not worth anything, but to us she’s priceless.”
Luke has already been helped tremendously by the pup, who even has her own Facebook page. She’s a bit of a celebrity in the UK.
“I think Roo will reduce Luke’s stress and that should help his skin,” Salmon said.
But, of course, Roo has mobility issues. How could she not?
She does get around on her own, but there’s some struggle and the family is concerned that it will start to cause her pain as she gets older.
They’ve reached out to the star of The Supervet, Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, as well as other veterinary surgeons and animal disability organizations to see if Roo can be helped in some significant way.
But at the time, she was just too young.
“When she walks, she sort of staggers on her elbows with her bum in the air, like an army crawl,” Salmon said. ” It’s sad but it’s cute at the same time because she is so full of energy.”
It looks like Roo will have to wait to see if surgery will help. When the family consulted with professionals in August of last year, they were told the pup would need to be at least a year old before surgery was an option.
In December of 2019, the family shared on their GoFundMe page (which you can still donate to) that Roo was a candidate for surgery on one of her extra limbs and that it was scheduled to take place in January of 2020. But it’s unclear if that took place.
Keep your eyes peeled to more news about Roo and whether or not she has a 4-legged future.
In the meantime, be sure to scroll down below to see a news story about Roo from when she was just a puppy.
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