When Liz Bell saw the small, shivering dog in her friend's front yard, she thought it had been hit by a car. Its back left leg was curled under. It had a pronounced limp. But when a veterinarian at an emergency clinic got a closer look, she found something much more serious. The dog had too many legs. The dog, a female Maltese and terrier mix, is between 9 months and 1 year old. Veterinarians say it is extremely rare for an animal with such a serious deformity to survive into adulthood. When she heard of the animal, Dr. Rebecca Tudor, a veterinary surgeon affiliated with N.C. State University, was stumped. She scoured medical journals for clues but found nothing. None of her university colleagues could help. "I'm sure puppies have been born like that before," she said. "But to be an adult dog, well, I've never heard of it."

Bell, 39, hopes surgery can repair the little dog she calls Popcorn. The NCSU administrative assistant first encountered Popcorn two weeks ago while relaxing at home on a Saturday afternoon. She got a call from a friend, Debbie Hicks, who lives outside Raleigh near Umstead State Park. Hicks had discovered the stray dog on her front porch.

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The report says - Because of the unusual bone structure, the veterinarians may end up removing both back left legs, leaving the five-legged dog with just three.

Hmmm, what I don’t get is, that if it’s an adult dog, then why try and remove the extra leg, if its not causing any problems, and in doing so they might have to remove the other leg as well. So instead of having 5 legs its only going to have 3, huh? Poor little thing...

I thought it was common for adult dogs to be alive with 5 legs.

I guess I just thought that cause some animals like cows survive with them.

In the end this story will have a happy ending because the love that woman has showed for the dog. He is obviously resilient and whether he continues life with 5 or 3 legs, I think his life will be better that it ever would have been had the woman not been such a compassionate human being. Good for her, and good luck to the puppy!

I came across quotes in 2 articles that may answer the question of why they would do surgery:

I think the dog would be a lot better off after the surgery, even if it is left with three legs. I know it has been like that its whole life and doesn't know any other way, but it can't be comfortable. And being the back legs, it wont be so hard for the dog to grow used to it, whereas the front legs would seriously affect its balance for a time.

That little dog is really lucky to have been found, and is going to get the love it deserves now!

An update CLICK HERE