A 6-year-old Brittany Spaniel named Dexter has become famous for his ability to adapt to learning to walk only on his hind legs, after losing one of his front legs in a car accident. Dexter wasn’t even a year old when he escaped his owners’ yard in Colorado to follow a scent. Focused on his goal, the pup accidentally ran into the path of a moving van. Fortunately, his owner, Tim Pasek, found him immediately and rushed him to the vet. One of his front legs had to be removed, and the other turned out to be more badly damaged than originally thought. After a 45-minute procedure, Dexter’s life was not only saved, but changed in an instant. Because Dexter’s remaining front leg was not weight-bearing, the pooch taught himself to walk on his back legs. Pasek said the dog simply got up on his hind legs and walked to the porch like a human. He decided to call the vet to see if that was a safe thing to do and discovered that it was perfectly fine for Dexter to use only his back legs. “He’s developed massive, weight-lifter thighs, said Dexter's vet, Dr. Chris Franklin. "It was his desire to adapt." Dexter’s long-term prognosis is good as long as his hind legs stay healthy, and so far, that’s not a problem.
