A three-legged dog who suffered abuse at the hands of his previous owners has been rehomed. Ralph, now 14 months old, was rescued by the RSPCA as a five-month-old puppy with a fractured left back leg, three broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis.
His injured leg was amputated, but after undergoing canine hydrotherapy, Ralph learned to walk again. He now lives with Karen Vernon in Allestree, Derby, who said it is 'very hard not to love Ralph'.
Ms Vernon admitted she was initially drawn to his face and his sad story. 'We weren't initially going to come home with a dog but I couldn't get him out of my mind,' she said. '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 loves to lick people and, despite having three legs, 'thinks he's still got four legs and can go like a rocket', according to Ms Vernon.
Ralph's previous owners were prosecuted for causing unnecessary suffering and failing to meet his needs. One was jailed for eight weeks, while the other received an eight-week suspended sentence, 80 hours of unpaid work, and was ordered to pay £250 in costs.
