This is Brutus, a two-year-old Rottweiler. When he was a puppy, he was left outside in the cold by his breeders which resulted in severe frost bite in all four paws. To make matters worse they amputated his paws themselves, leaving the poor pup crippled and in pain. “The paws were taken off except for the left forelimb, which has some residual padding,” his foster turned forever mum Laura Aquilina told the Huffington Post.
As Brutus continued to grow, Laura observed that her rotty had more trouble getting around. She wanted him to be able to run and enjoy life like a normal dog so she set up a Go Fund Me page and raised more than $14,000 for Brutus’ prosthetics and physical therapy.
After undergoing corrective surgery to remove bone fragment and dewclaws from his botched amputation at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Colorado, Brutus received four prosthetic feet from Orthopets.
Laura’s beloved canine has been more active since receiving his artificial limbs but further physical therapy is needed to help Brutus become completely comfortable with his new paws.
You can follow Brutus’ progress on his Facebook page.