‘Bright eyed puppy’ with rare condition seconds from euthanasia

When Starfish was only 10 weeks old, she was dropped in an old beer box and abandoned on a beach in California.

The sweet little German Shepherd was unable to stand and though she was “splayed out” like a pancake, her tail wagged wildly when a human opened the box.

Rushed to a shelter for care, technicians believed there was “no hope” and decided euthanasia was the only option.

Then, as the vet stood over her “with a needle in hand,” a miracle walked through the door...

In 2018, Alaina Onesko was walking along Crown Beach in the San Francisco Bay area when she came across a box of Heineken that was left on the sand along the icy waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Onesko, an Animal Control Officer with the Alameda Police Department, says, “I saw a beer box on the ground with two little ears sticking out of it.”

Speaking of the “happy, bright-eyed German Shepherd puppy” lying flat in the box, she continues, “I was like ‘what?’ And I open the box and I see this face of this puppy. When I picked her up and put her against me is when I knew right away, something is different.”

The dog was completely flat and couldn’t walk.

Onesko raced to a nearby shelter with the little puppy, who despite not being able to stand, was wagging her tail the entire time.

Sadly, the shelter believed her organs were malformed and there was “little to no hope” so technicians made the decision to euthanize the sweet girl.

“We were standing there, basically needle in hand,” says Onesko, who’s unable to hold back her tears. “But then John walked in and said, ‘let’s get a second opinion.’”

John Lipp, the CEO of the Friends of Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS), entered the room and recognized “something super special” about the dog, who had such a “spark of life.”

Lipp gave the little dog the chance she needed.

Swimmer’s Syndrome

That was when it was discovered the puppy with the “indomitable spirit” – named Starfish because she was “splayed out” like “a starfish” – had Swimmer’s Syndrome.

Swimmer’s Syndrome “is a developmental deformity in which a puppy’s tendons and muscles do not develop the tension required to bring the legs under the body and allow for weight bearing and walking.” The condition, which is completely curable, is typically caused by “improper nutrition and malformation of bones.”

FAAS then helped Starfish with recovery, which included surgeries and physical therapy she needed to overcome the condition.

‘Precious thing’

Then a 12-year-old girl named Maggie Gray came along.

The pre-teen explains she signed up to be a foster parent for FAAS and when she met Starfish, she fell in love.

“She was the most precious thing in the entire world,” Maggie says of Starfish. “She looked like a little teddy bear, and she was just flat. Like a pancake. It didn’t really matter me that she couldn’t walk, I didn’t hold back from loving her all the way.”

Speaking of her first few days with her new best friend, Maggie says “we were very, very close. We spent all of our time together because…well…she didn’t really have a say in it she couldn’t exactly walk away.”

Her mother, Leigh Anne Gray, explains her and her Liam agreed to foster the dog for two days while she recovered from hip surgery, but had not yet decided to adopt her.

But Maggie refused to part ways with Starfish and ran away.

“She wrote me a note and said that she and Starfish were going, she was so sad that Starfish would be going,” Leigh Anne says, adding that the duo returned home about an hour later. Not long after, the family decided they couldn’t let go of the precious pup.

Rose

Under the family’s care, Starfish, now named Rose, learned to lift herself and walk. But, though she loves the dog park, she “doesn’t very much enjoy going on walks.”

“Her favorite thing to do these days is to swim, and it is such good exercise for her back end. After a couple of weeks’ swimming off the boat ramps, she has stopped twisting together her back legs as she walks,” Leigh Anne writes in a GoFundMe campaign that she organized to support FAAS and Rose’s surgical procedures. Remaining funds go to the organization’s Starfish Medical Fund that helps injured or ill homeless pets arriving at the shelter.

Leigh Anne explains they “adopted [Rose] with the belief that she is perfect” for the family and is “meant to be walking around our community, inspiring people with her unique story. She adds that she “lives with the promise that the underdog in all of us needs a little boost and a lot of love.”

The FAAS shared an update on Facebook, along with a series of photos that shows Rose over the years. “She’s doing great!” FAAS writes, adding that she also has a four-legged sibling, Pearl the cat, who the family rescued from the shelter.

“She is a big, handsome, active girl who not only walks normally, but loves to run and jump and chase squirrels,” FAAS writes of Rose. “Your donations made it possible. Thank you.”

We are so happy that Rose was given a second chance! Please let us know what you think of this story and then share it with your friends so we can all send the Grays, and Rose, our very best wishes!