Greenacres Rescue/Greenacres Rescue
Ariel was found abandoned in a Welsh car park.
CNN –
A six-legged dog found abandoned in a supermarket car park in Wales has undergone surgery to remove her excess limbs.
Ariel, a spaniel, was born with several health deficiencies. She was named after the Disney princess because her extra hind legs were partially fused together and resembled a mermaid's tail.
She was taken in by Greenacres Rescue, a not-for-profit group based in the town of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The group organized Ariel's surgery and placed her with a foster family.
Ariel is recovering and walking normally, Greenacres Rescue said in a post shared on Facebook.
“Our wonderful and special little spaniel has been discharged from the Small Animal Referral Hospital at Langford Vets University of Bristol and is back living in his wonderful nursing home,” the group wrote, sharing photos of Ariel wrapped in a red blanket after surgery.
They added that her procedure “went as expected” and she now has a few weeks of recovery ahead of her.
“Ariel must now rest for the next 10 to 14 days to recover,” the group said. “We will provide updates during this time.”
“There were two procedures that lasted about two hours, but both went well,” the charity's founder Mikey Lawlor told Britain's Press Association news agency about Ariel's surgery.
“The next day she was awake, walking around, eating and drinking.”
Lawlor said there had been an outpouring of support for Ariel from people around the world, including calls and emails from as far away as Australia.
“I just can’t thank everyone enough for helping her,” Lawlor said.
Ariel is expected to be released from the hospital this weekend and taken home to her foster family.
Langford Vets Hospital
Ariel in the hospital.