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Meet Bella, the 5-legged dog up for adoption – ABC News

The six-month-old puppy is looking for her fur-ever home.
A puppy named Bella is up for adoption in Wisconsin but unlike other shelter dogs, Bella has a unique physical characteristic that sets her apart.
The six-month-old canine with a brindle coat was born with five legs – a rare congenital condition called dimelia, according to the Wisconsin Humane Society, where Bella is currently under the care of.
Angela Speed, the vice president of marketing and communications at the Wisconsin Humane Society, said veterinarians at the shelter immediately noticed the pup had a wider-than-usual right hind leg and extra toes when she was surrendered about two weeks ago.
"They wanted to X-ray her and were shocked to discover on her X-rays that she basically has a mirror image of the bone structure in that leg. And so she has two femurs, two tibias, two two fibulas and instead of four to five toes, Bella has nine," Speed told "Good Morning America."
Speed described Bella as "a unicorn of a dog" and said it's the first time a five-legged dog has been brought into a WHS shelter.
"There's only a few documented cases in veterinary literature of [dimelia] being found in dogs. It's more primarily seen in cattle. It's also a condition that humans can have as well," Speed said. "But in our 145 years of operation, this is definitely the first case of dimelia we've seen in a canine and it's really blown us all away."

According to Speed, Bella was not surrendered due to her rare condition but because she was "too rambunctious." With her extra leg, Bella is still active and runs and chases, just like other dogs.
Bella, who is spayed, is one of 17 dogs up for adoption in the Kenosha area this week and Speed said she's very social, full of energy and also loves to snuggle once she's tired out.
For anyone interested in potentially adopting Bella, Speed said they should consider if they can keep Bella active and have her seen by a veterinarian on a regular basis.

Speed and the WHS staff said they hope in sharing Bella's story they can encourage people to consider adopting an animal looking for a permanent home.
"We're hoping that Bella's story does shed a light on the fantastic animals who are available at animal shelters. Across the country, shelters have been experiencing really high dog intake but slower dog adoptions and we're feeling that same pressure right now so we're hoping that this inspires people to consider adopting a shelter dog," Speed said.
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