Bella, a 6-month-old puppy, was left at a Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) shelter in Kenosha. The veterinary team was surprised to realize that the dog had five extra toes on her right hind leg, which, on top of that, was strangely wider than usual for a dog.
Tests identified that the dog was born with a rare congenital anomaly, known as dimelia, which causes duplication of the bones. X-rays showed that Bella had an additional femur, two tibiae, two fibulae, and five fingers. Dimelia is rarely seen in veterinary medicine and can also occur in humans.
WHS shared photos of Bella and her X-rays on social media, shelter staff said the dog is a “true unicorn in both body and spirit.”
“It’s the first case of dimelia we’ve seen in our organization’s history, and to the best of our knowledge, she’s one of *very* few documented cases of dimelia in a dog — ever!” the shelter wrote in the post.
Netizens were impressed by the images and showed admiration for Bella, causing her story to spread across social media. “Blessed be darling, I hope you find a home,” one person said. “Beautiful girl! You’ll probably have a line of people for her!” wrote another.
The shelter team called a surgical specialist to evaluate the possibility of a surgical intervention, including amputation, however, as the extra leg does not seem to be a nuisance to the animal, the specialists decided to leave it as it is and continue monitoring, to avoid potential risks in the event of surgery.
“Due to the extreme rarity of his condition, our veterinary team consulted an outside expert. Surgical approaches (including amputation) have been considered, but there are risks of complications and she is wearing the limb comfortably. This time, the recommendation was to keep the leg as it is and continue to monitor its comfort. Her mobility is a bit affected, but she loves to walk and run around in our playground,” the WHS team explained.
However, Angela Speed, vice president of marketing and communications at WHS, pointed out that Bella’s extra bones and physical condition affect her mobility. She also reinforces the importance of adopting a shelter animal. “We have a sea of dogs, adults and puppies, looking for a home right now, but Bella is very special. Who wouldn’t adopt this adorable little unicorn puppy?”
