Flynn - a Rescued Puppy with a Unique Gait

Flynn, a 9-day-old puppy who was rescued, rehabilitated and transformed into a much-loved companion!

   This story was sent to me by the same animal rescue advocate who sent in the story about Tiva (below). Flynn really got lucky when Linda saved him. It's a heart-warming story that is the perfect remedy for the stressful times we are living in - and a testament to the resiliency of animals!

   Linda's tale: Precious Flynn is now almost 7 years old. He was given to me by Tina at the Las Vegas, NM animal shelter on March 14th 2014 when he was only 9 days old. 
​   At 10 oz, he was so tiny! He was found under a shed; he had 2 siblings who had already died from exposure and he was barely hanging onto life. Mom was nowhere to be found. He was quite weak and his body temperature was falling; on the way home from the shelter, I held him against me and massaged his little body and talked to him constantly. 
   Several times I was pretty sure he wasn't going to survive the 45 minute trip but we finally got home. I warmed a one liter bag of sterile saline a vet had given me and tucked it up against him while I hurriedly got his first meal together. He wasn't moving much at all but when I got the bottle to him, he figured out right away what it was for and made short work of his dinner. His strong response gave me hope that I wouldn't lose him. 

   I held him and kept him toasty throughout that first night and well into the next day. I had gotten a litter of 5 pups the previous week that were 3 weeks old but they were so much bigger, so I decided to keep Flynn isolated from the group. Every meal gave Flynn strength and I was able to leave him to sleep in a small cat carrier with his "heating bag" late the next day. He opened his eyes on day 12 and my first reaction was, "Oh! He's so cute!" He was completely and totally black, not a light colored hair on him anywhere and not much bigger than his baby bottle.
   We spent a huge amount of time together that first week because I was still afraid to take my eyes off him for long. Gradually, he got stronger and was able to control his body temperature. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about him until he tried to walk. At first, I thought he was just clumsy due to his harrowing start in life but as time went on, I noticed he seemed to trip and fall much more often than any other young pups I'd fostered. His legs and feet seemed to have a mind of their own and they would cross all willy-nilly and trip him as he tried to move forward. When he was able to stand on his front legs, his back end would collapse and vice versa. His legs just couldn’t seem to support him for any length of time.
   Still, although his body was tiny it wasn’t disproportioned in any way. I decided to have a vet look at him when he was 3 weeks old. He said that Flynn may have a compressed nerve in his neck or spine and suggested I take him to the emergency vet clinic to see their neuro-specialist who x-rayed his neck and spine, but he then said that it was too early to tell. He suggested that I take precautions to keep him from falling and to bring him back in 3 weeks. 

​   Flynn got to meet his older foster 'siblings' but I didn’t allow them to interact much. So, Flynn got his very own and VERY padded play area but, it was a constant fluctuation between letting him get up and play - which was Flynn walking and tripping and crashing - and trying to keep him quiet and relaxed. He was just too full of energy and curiosity to keep this boy down for long. The only times I got a real break was when he decided to take a nap.
            At six weeks of age, Flynn again visited the neurologist who took more x-rays and said that, “whatever it is” he would probably grow out of it.
            He was such a happy curious puppy; it didn't seem to faze him that his feet would trip him up almost every time he tried to run. And run he did! Once he learned to walk, albeit with many accidents, it wasn't long at all until he turned up the speed. As time passed, Flynn's coordination improved so that he doesn't face-plant anymore but he sure does have an odd gait! When he walks or runs, he slaps his feet down loudly enough that one can hear him coming from other rooms in the house. His gait reminds me of that of a Tennessee Walking Horse; his front feet naturally turn inward when he raises them and he 'prances' with forelegs and his hind legs are raised higher than normal. It's unusual but it seems to work for him - and he rarely walks anywhere. He runs and runs and runs.
            Flynn is also super curious and super smart! I began taking him and the other pups to a dog lover friend of mine so she could help me feed them all. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with goofy Flynn. When it came time to transport him at 8 weeks to Lifeline Puppy Rescue in Colorado, my friend said “Ah no, he's staying with me.” So now, I get to visit my strong, filled-out 45 pound oddly galloping Flynn any time I want. His strange condition has never been officially identified, but it doesn't matter because he is a member of a 5 dog household where he is loved and adored on a daily basis. Flynn is AWESOME.

Flynn has an odd gate, but he doesn't care - he has too much fun with his new family!