Puppy takes first steps after physio
Image: Dogs Trust. Wonky after physiotherapy
An abandoned puppy nicknamed "Wonky" has been able to take her first steps after receiving physiotherapy for two weeks.
11-week-old Wonky, now renamed Juliet, was taken from her mother as a very young pup and abandoned on the streets. Her front leg tendons failed to develop, which was worsened by poor diet and separation from her mother.
Manager of the Leeds Dogs Trust, Amanda Sands said: "We think she was removed from her mother then abandoned. Because she's gone without the nutrition of her mother's milk her front legs haven't developed.
"She has an extreme case of knuckling - where the front tendons contract, the front paws bend inwards and she balances on the knuckle joints."
Juliet was only able to hobble on her bent front legs until she was given physiotherapy by the Dogs Trust, but now she has taken her first steps. Staff at the Leeds centre straighten Juliet's legs 30 times a day to strengthen her muscles. She still struggles to run but is able to do short walks.
Staff at the Trust say people from all over the world have offered to adopt Juliet.
Click here for the before and after footage of Juliet.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
