One dog is showing the world that it really is a Pig’s life.
In early June, DogTime.com shared a video of Pig, a friendly pooch whose unusual birth defect gives her a curious — but downright adorable — appearance.
According to her popular Facebook page, Pig has a rare birth defect called short spine syndrome. The condition causes the pooch to look as though her head is attached directly to her lower back, leaving out her neck and most of her body length with it.
With her high shoulders, Pig walks much like a gorilla. She hops like a frog to get up from a down position. Because she doesn’t really have a neck, Pig must spin her entire body around to get a glimpse at what is beside her.
Little but mighty Pig was born last fall to a feral mother in a forest just northeast of Atlanta, according to AL.com. If it weren’t for Pig’s loud barking, it’s likely she and her sisters would have died in the wild.
Contractor and Helena, Alabama, resident Kim Dillenbeck knew almost instantly she and Pig were destined to be best buddies. Dillenbeck first met the famous pooch during a trip to visit her sister in Jefferson, Georgia.
“I met some of her neighbors who came over for Christmas breakfast, and after hearing about Pig, we all went to her house,” Dillenbeck remembers. “I bonded with Pig right away. I thought I’d either be with her or near her helping her find a home.”
But very soon, Dillenbeck found she could not part with the pint-sized pup.
“Pretty quickly, I decided to be her mother because she probably wouldn’t live,” Dillenbeck explains. “We assumed that by now, she would be suffocating under her own organs, or something like that, because of her shape.”
When the person who rescued Pig and her littermates initially took the odd-shaped dog to a nearby vet, the doctor didn’t think she would live. Thankfully, today, Pig appears to be a healthy and happy girl, according to her veterinarian.
“The whole clinic loves her,” Pig’s veterinarian, Dr. Rachel Hudson-Breland, tells the Associated Press of her celebrity patient. “She comes in and she’s a rock star here.”
One of the easiest things about adopting Pig — coming up with her name, says Dillenbeck.
“When she was really, really like she looked like a fuzzy little piglet,” Pig’s proud owner explains.
Pig has since become a genuine sensation in her own right. Her Facebook page has been “Liked” more than 26,000 times, and videos of little Pig are quite popular.
Dillenbeck says it is tough to determine exactly what breed of dog Pig really is, but believes she may be an Akita mix. At 8-months-old, the 15-pound pup is still growing, which may have some dangerous consequences.
“She’s not fully grown,” says Dillenbeck. “She’s still gaining weight. At this point, she has the potential to gain another 20 pounds, and that would probably kill her.”
Dillenbeck tells the Daily Mail that while she is unsure of Pig’s future, she adores every moment with the little dog.
“I’m the lucky one. She makes me laugh every day,” says Dillenbeck.
Sources: Daily Mail, Associated Press, AL.com
