Duncan passed away in July of 2023 but he will live in our hearts forever.
​
Where was he born? Colorado State
​
How old is he? DOB: 7/13/2013
​
Where does he live? Medford Oregon
Is he available for adoption? No, he is not. Duncan has found his person, "The Dad" and they are attached at the hip.
What happened to him? He was born with his rear legs fused in an X shape.
What surgery did he have? Dr. Brandon at Animal Care Clinic in Vancouver, Washington removed his rear legs by doing a double amputation.
Why did you remove his legs? They were twisting Duncan’s spine and they were 100% unusable. They would have eventually caused severe pain, incontinence, etc.
How long did it take him to walk? He could walk on his front legs before surgery, and he was up and walking one hour after surgery. Removing his legs made a significant difference in his ability to walk by removing the extra weight.
Why doesn’t he have a wheel chair? Duncan actually has had 3 wheel chairs and has rejected them all. He tries to lift the wheel chairs which causes a tremendous amount of stress on his front legs.
Why doesn’t he have prosthetics? He doesn’t have anything to attach a prosthetic to. There must be something that can ambulate to attach to for a prosthetic to work.
Is it hard on his body to live the way he does? Yes it is hard on his body and it already has and will continue to prematurely break down his joints.
Is he in pain? No, Duncan is not in daily pain. He suffers from mild tendinitis, that does have flair ups, in his right shoulder that we treat with warm laser therapy & physical therapy.
Does he do physical therapy? Yes, we do daily range of motion therapy and massage in coordination with his laser therapy.
How does he pee and poop? He does his business just like any other dog, just with better balance.
Can he swim? No, but he has recently found a love for splashing in the VERY shallow water.
Can he jump or go up/down stairs? He can hop and he can go up and down stairs just fine. He does not like stairs with open spaces between each stair and will avoid open stairs. He can jump off of a couch, but cannot jump onto
a couch.
​
What is his life expectancy? We have no idea, we take every day as a good day. The Dad believes that quality of life is more important than quantity and he will do everything we can to keep Duncan’s quality of life excellent. Duncan’s spirit is strong and he will never quit, ultimately The Dad will have to decide for him when his quality of life is no longer at an acceptable level. He will not ever put Duncan in a situation where we feel he is in pain or suffering.
Do you make money off his media success? Money was made off of the original YouTube video that went viral. 100% of that money went to a non profit. We do not charge for Duncan's appearances or pay for social media boosts. His media success is 100% organic. We do not believe Duncan to be a marketing tool or a way for us to make money and it will always be that way. We do however push to share his story in a way that will continue to inspire people and change minds about differently abled animals.