The rescued German Shepherd puppy was first seen by Anita Horne, hospital manager at VCA Advanced Veterinary Care Centre in Indiana, last October. As reported by The Mirror, Raga was born with an additional colon and four testicles, as well as six legs. There was also an additional penis that had to be removed. While there are a few such occurrences in veterinary literature, the majority of these dogs are stillborn or die at a young age.
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Small steps
Initially, the hospital’s technician supervisor, Gina Elliott was convinced to foster Raga for some time as everyone expected it to pass away soon. However, when he lived past his life expectancy, the doctors decided to help him. Dr Jae Tobias, a veterinarian, and surgeon Dr Nicolas Vecchio performed their first operation on Raga in December to remove his extra limbs and pelvis.
Raga's body was having trouble working since faeces were being sent to his second penis, necessitating the use of strong antibiotics. Raga, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on and proceeded to play and run around the hospital, his conjoined legs flopping behind him.
After a successful surgery of December, his useless internal organs, including his crooked penis and urinary tract, were removed in February.
Happy home
Raga is now halfway through being a normal doggo despite all the odds against him. None of the doctors that treated him had ever witnessed a case like Raga's but went on to do their best and hoped for a positive outcome. Raga has just one surgery left to remove his two last testicles embedded in his abdomen.
After the surgery, he will be a happy seven-month-old dog in a loving home. Elliott, who had fostered the pup only for a few days, grew extremely fond of him and has finally adopted him into her home and heart.
Read more:
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