A three-legged dog who was mistreated by his previous owners has finally found a new home in Allestree, Derby. Ralph, a 14-month-old pup, was rescued by the RSPCA as a five-month-old with a fractured left back leg, three broken ribs and a fractured pelvis.
His leg was amputated, but after canine hydrotherapy, Ralph learned to walk again. New owner Karen Vernon said: 'Initially we were taken by his face and the look of him, and his story too, it was so sad. We weren't initially going to come home with a dog but I couldn't get him out of my mind.'
Ms Vernon added: 'Every week I would look on the site and say to my husband 'he's still there, he's not gone, nobody's taken him'.' RSPCA inspector Sarah Burrows recalled that Ralph 'looked so sad' when she rescued him from a home in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Now, Ralph is a happy dog who likes to lick people all over. 'He thinks he's still got four legs and can go like a rocket, which he can,' said Ms Vernon. Ralph's previous owners were prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering; one was jailed for eight weeks, while the other received a suspended sentence and unpaid work order.
