Warrior three-legged dog lives happily ever after

Sparta is a warrior’s name but does it befit an animal companion? Well, yes.

Like all fairytales, this one starts with the story of an animal in distress that needed to be rescued by knights on their trusty steeds, the knights being Roodepoort SPCA inspectors.

The SPCA received a call early in April about a small puppy whose back left leg was fractured and the owner wasn’t able to take it to the vet because of the costs involved.

Roodepoort SPCA manager Mandi Cattanach said the organisation immediately took the small pup to the Bergbron Animal Clinic, where they inserted pins and screws into the leg to straighten it out.

However, this was a case of too little too late and the leg had to be amputated.

“What made this story so amazing is that every inspector at the SPCA donated money in an effort to save the leg.”

The story however doesn’t end there.

Cattanach adopted the little puppy shortly thereafter.

“Little Sparta – as she is now known – crept into my heart the first moment I saw her and I had to adopt her and make her part of my family.”

According to Cattanach, the name Sparta befits the little pup as she is a fighter and just continues with life although she only has three legs.

“Its not all plain sailing as I have to take her for hydrotherapy once a week to help with her muscle development.”

One of the biggest problems that Sparta is currently facing is that her leg’s femur is still cracked and it isn’t good for her to move around much as the femur needs time to heal.

“It’s a challenge to try and keep her still enough as she is still a puppy and loves to play, but this doesn’t stop me from bringing her to work with me everyday as everyone has grown so fond of her.”