19 Quasimodo Dogs Worldwide List & Photos Notre Dame Dog Short Spine Syndrome Quasimodo Dogs Worldwide List Project "Quasi" by Fabiana Rosa Quasimodo Dogs on Youtube Videos German Shpeherd Quasimodo Dog Quasi Modo Dog Roots & History The Ugliest Dog on Earth Contest Quasimodo Dogs Companions Quasi Dogs Photos & Videos Rare Pig Disorder of Dogs Special Hunch-Backed Dog Baboon Dog Syndrome Quasimodo Dog Facebook Defect of Dog Spine
There are now at least 19 known dogs with so-called "short-spine syndrome" out there. There could very well be more. But, ironically, many of the owners of these unusual canines thought theirs was the only one.
The common personality characteristic of all of these dogs is how well socialized they are. Despite their physical limitations, their sometimes-struggle to get around, their fused spines and crowded organs, they love people. The dogs mentioned here range in age from young adults through seniors. There're no any specific known deseases (besides maybe diabetic & breathe problems) for all the pack of short-spined dogs. They could live long and happy life, they could be very healthy, kind and intelligent dogs. Pig is not alone.. But, ironically, many of the owners of these unusual canines thought theirs was the only one.
Many of the owners want to use their special dogs to help a specific cause. Cuda, to educate about puppy mills. McDonald wants to show that Cleo proves a special needs dog can be adoptable and loving. Fabiana Rosa in Rome founded "Quasi Project" to rescue dogs.
Quasimodo is a German shepherd stray dog with a hunchback has gained a legion of fans after finding home at a canine rescue shelter in what could be the perfect fairy-tale ending. Quasimodo, whose chest is about a third of the size that it should be at his age, has virtually no neck to support his full-sized head. His unusual appearance is caused by short spine syndrome, a condition that only affects 13 known dogs in the world.
TAZ Like the other Pig-like dogs, Taz has a great temperament. Except for cataracts and diabetes, Taz is a healthy senior. Jeanne Schick rescued Taz seven years ago from a kill shelter. Taz, believed to be a Lab mix, is owned by Jeanne Schick of Murphy, N.C
Cuda is 4 1/2 years old. Finding short spine dogs and their owners has showed me Cuda is not alone, as I once thought, and she can live a long life. They come in any breed although it seems that many of them seem to be herding types.
Cuda was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 18 months old but since then, a sonogram has revealed her organs are of normal size. The vet did not feel her diagnosis was related to short spine syndrome. Cuda and her pals hang out. Cuda's family uses her as a symbol to protest puppy mills. As I looked her over, I was dumbfounded. She was like no other dog I had ever seen. She had a squished body and a huge jaw with a serious underbite, and appeared to be a mix between a gargoyle and a pig. Or a gargoyle and a frog. Cuda got her own Facebook page, full of likers, fans and friends.
MOLLY FAITH Molly Faith lived to be 6 months old before she developed breathing problems and had to be euthanized. Brandon McDonald had Molly Faith before Cleo. She was Cleo's sister.
CRICKET
Cricket lived in Genoa, Italy, with human mom, Anna Canese. Cricket was a collie mix. Criket was a border collie as well and was born to one of owner Anna Canese's dogs. Criket suddenly passed away December 6, 2015 at age 9 from a gastric torsion, which can happen to any dog and is not exclusive to short spine syndrome.
Pig is a baby! This is our very own Pig. She lives in Helena with Kim Dillenbeck. Pig's and Dillenbeck's story has gained attention worldwide. Pig has become quite the celebrity and draws crowds wherever she goes. Pig is on the go a lot, so she likes to take rest breaks.
WATCH SPECIAL DOG VIDEO !!! Pig also got her own Facebook page, which helps to keep her pretty known & famous worldwide.
PROGETTO QUASI
Quasi is 8 years old and lives in Rome, Italy, with her human, Fabiana Rosa. She adopted Quasi after seeing a posting on Facebook six years ago. Quasi is the symbol for Progetto Quasi, a rescue organization created by Rosa after she adopted Quasi. The organization has rescued more than 160 dogs in four years. Quasi is quite famous in Italy. "When we go around, there is always someone calling us and giving her a hug."
MOJO It wasn't until a year or so later that a photo of a spaniel mix named Crumpet located in a Twinsburg, Ohio, shelter appeared on my page. Crumpet clearly exhibited short spine syndrome and through research I learned he was adopted in 2012, when he was 8, by Maria Rall, who renamed him Mojo. Mojo, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his human mom, Maria Rall, loves to go to the park.
Mary Beth Goosman got Watson from a Washington, D.C., shelter four years ago. Watson, like all of these dogs, is lovable and loves others. Watson is not opposed to taking it easy. About Watson and the other similar dogs, Goosman said: "They're amazing." She had no idea what his condition was but she loved him unconditionally. Watson lived to be nearly 14 and passed December 11, 2015.
NITHIDA THAILAND DOG This doggie lives in Thailand. It has the same spine defect and it looks like a very intelligent and nice dog.
MINA
Several months later, I was contacted by an avid animal rescuer in Mexico named Arturo Gonzalez-Ortega Frias. Amazingly, his short spine dogs, Mina and Vlad, were found on two separate occasions. Arturo says Vlad is shy with people while Mina is outgoing.
VLAD Owned by Arturo Gonzalez-Ortega Frias, lives in Mexixo
POLLIWOG
But then, just the other day, I received an email from a veterinarian named Karen Dashfield in New Jersey telling me about her 5-year-old Russian Borzoi named Polliwog. A breeder reached out to her when Polly was just 12 weeks old. Interestingly, she brings more genetic trait information to this condition. Polly had a littermate who was unable to walk. A second litter loosely related to Polly had two stillborn pups with defects that appeared to be related to short spine syndrome.
Several more short spine dogs came out of the woodwork at the same time. Frankie belongs to Ann O'Brien in the U.K. Frankie is a foster fail who is a Jack Russell terrier mix.
IZZY BELLE I was contacted by Angela Wright Lonergan in Texas. She, too, is the proud mom of a short spine dog, a poodle named Izzy Belle. Izzy Belle and her sister, whom Angela also adopted, looked the same until they turned about 4 months old. That's when Angela noticed Izzy Belle was developing what she found to be short spine syndrome. Izzy Belle is tiny, only a few pounds, but has no health issues and is now 3 years old.
ODD DOG Then there are Odd Dog and Gobblin. They were found in a box in Rome when they were about 5 months old. They are likely siblings. Quasi's mom, Fabiana, stepped up and helped place them in their current homes. Odd Dog belongs to Patrizia Onnis and lives in Italy. See the video of Odd Dog when he was a puppy : )
GOBLIN The dog lives in Italy and owned by Fabiana Rosa.
UNKNOWN YELLOW LAB There is one more yellow labrador with Baboon or Short-Spine hunchbacked syndrome. We could not determine it's owners & homeplace, please contact us if you are the owner of this doggy.
German Shepherd with a hunchback named Quasimodo wins thousands of fans after footage of his unusual appearance is spotted online. Your typical viral dog story has been done, redone, and re-redone millions of times by now. It's time for a dog who is truly an underdog to stake its Internet claim.
That dog is Quasi The Great, who joined Facebook on January 28 and already has more than 54,000 followers. Because he's totally badass! Born with Short Spine Syndrome, Quasi takes his name from his hunched look inspired by the Victor Hugo French classic. Quasi arrived at Secondhand Hounds shelter in Minnesota last week, where staff says they hope the attention will get people out to their local shelters to adopt. His spine cannot be operated on, so he might face some arthritis issues as he ages. Though Quasi has a few weeks before he's eligible for adoption, for now he is not in pain, loves to play, and is excited to find a forever home.
A stray dog with a hunchback has gained a legion of fans after finding home at a canine rescue shelter in what could be the perfect fairy-tale ending. Quasimodo, whose chest is about a third of the size that it should be at his age, has virtually no neck to support his full-sized head. His unusual appearance is caused by short spine syndrome - a condition that only affects 13 known dogs in the world.
The pure-breed German Shepherd was found in Kentucky, USA, earlier this month and arrived at his temporary home in Minnesota on January 28. Now, thanks to a fast-growing fan-base, he could find a permanent home sooner than expected. He is currently homed at Secondhand Hounds, a non-profit animal rescue operation in Eden Prairie, MN, where he gained his fame. Quasimodo grew up in a kennel and had been in a southern shelter according to his Facebook page.
Staff at the shelter named him after the well-known Disney character from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. X-ray images of the animal shows that his spine is twisted and gnarly. His internal organs are also severely compressed as a result. However, Quasimodo has a full-sized head and legs.
Dr Susan Miller at Mission Animal Hospital, MN, told Fox News that she has "never seen anything like this, only in pictures" and that its closest human condition would be spina bifida. She added: 'We think a genetic defect, not sure if it's inbreeding. "Something along the way caused his spine not to fully harden, so they think the softened vertebrate just compressed either in utero or very soon after birth, and then at some point it hardened, but it didn't harden soon enough." Although Quasimodo will be having surgery to improve his condition, he still could have complications in the future. However, offers to adopt Quasimodo have flooded in thanks in part to his impressive Facebook profile.
Secondhand Hounds first shared a 6 second clip of the 4-year-old dog on its Facebook page on January 9, which has since had more than 100,000 views. When he arrived at the shelter earlier this week, a Facebook page was set up to document his life at the shelter. Within two days, it has had close to 15,000 likes. Several offers of adoptions has already appeared on the page. However, keen adopters will have to wait.
Rachel Mairose told: "He might have surgery as soon as Monday - waiting for confirmation from the surgeon. Right now we are focusing less on finding him a home and more on getting him healthy. We already have hundreds of requests for adoption."
She's been mistaken for a baby WEREWOLF and regularly prompts double-takes from alarmed passers-by. One man even leapt on top of a car to avoid the sinister beast loping lopsidedly towards him. Meet aptly named Progetto Quasi Modo, a hunch-backed hound who has just been named the World's Ugliest Dog.
Quasi Modo Earns World's Ugliest Dog Title Quasi Modo a short-spined dog from Loxahatcheee, Florida, has taken the much coveted title of the World's Ugliest Dog against a field of 26 other candidates. After much deliberation, worthy of a national beauty contest, and tabulation by an independent auditor, Quasi Modo, who looks like a hyena to some, was selected because he "epitomized excellence in ugliness", according to Chief Judge Brian Sobel.
The Spirit Award was presented to Precious for her community service visiting disabled veterans along. More than 500 spectators clapped and cheered as the 27 underdogs proudly walked the red carpet and strutted their stuff across the stage. Pork even sported a bright blue mani-pedi. Cameras flashed and video rolled as international press recorded the evening's events.
You might think that all these homely hounds are Heinz 57 mutts, however pedigreed pooches took their share of the spotlight. We aren't interested in lineage, it's the inner beauty and personality that shine in our World's Ugliest Dog Contest.
The judges score the dogs on their first impression, unusual attributes, natural ugliness cannot have been altered for purposes of the contest, personality and audience impression.
A good many of the contestant dogs have been rescued from shelters and puppy mills and the Contest has done much to raise awareness for adoption of dogs and how no matter their physical detractions, these animals are loving companions. And the dogs certainly seem to enjoy the adoration of the fans!
The malformed mutt has a bizarre truncated torso, oversized bat-like ears, stumpy tail and long spindly legs. She even has a wart in the middle of her forehead. And her strange habit of sitting with her legs folded out of sight beneath her makes her look even odder. So her triumph is not surprising! The annual competition, in Petaluma, California, is a kind of antiCrufts and has forged a cult following in the 27 years it has run.
WATCH DOG VIDEO !!!Her home in rural Loxahatchee, Florida, where she lives with Ginnie Saye, 56, and her husband Michael Carroll, 69. My first encounter with Quasi was nerve-racking, she looks like a cross between a werewolf and the Looney Tunes' Tasmanian devil. But the friendly dog quickly shows I have nothing to fear by nuzzling against my legs.
The prize-winning pet was born with a very rare condition called short spine syndrome, giving her body an unnaturally squat appearance. Only a handful of dogs in the world have it and at ten years old, Quasi is believed to be the oldest.
Ginnie named her Quasi Modo, after the famous bell-ringer in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. Ginnie continued: "People have been telling us for years we should enter her in the ugly dog contest, but this year we were thinking of taking a vacation to mark our wedding anniversary so we thought, "Why not?". Quasi found herself sitting pretty after beating 26 other hideous hounds to land the $1,500 prize money, which Ginnie is donating to the animal shelter where she works.
Chief judge Brian Sobel praised Quasi Modo, saying the pooch, often mistaken for a male dog: "epitomised excellence in ugliness". In contrast to her somewhat alarming appearance, Quasi is a gentle soul who loves nothing better than snuggling on the sofa with her owners or creeping into their bed with them. She has always been placid and friendly to strangers. She also loves to eat and spends most of the day snoozing. Sometimes people think she must be in pain because of her spine but that is not the case at all.
Her condition also prevents her turning her head, so instead she spins her whole body around when something catches her attention. But Quasi's problems do not stop her running, playing and enjoying life like any other dog. And Michael, a retired construction worker, hopes her win will encourage people not to overlook dog-eared pooches, saying: "Even ugly can be good. When you are thinking about adopting a pet, do not forget about the ugly ones because they are just as wonderful. Quasi Modo is proof of that." People often think she is some kind of hyena.
She is a lovely dog with such a sweet personality. She may never make a conventional beauty queen, but thanks to her new-found notoriety, Quasi's days as an underdog are well and truly over.
Having been raised by wolves, I was naturally quite interested to find the photo at right wandering around the internet. What was this curious little beastie?
Photoshop was the word that sprang immediately to mind, but the reality is that this poor critter is (likely) real, and exhibits a spinal deformity common enough to have a name: baboon dog syndrome.
The name appears to have originated in South Africa, where enough animals were found exhibiting this condition that the locals had a name for it. It is not endemic to wolves, of course: according to the references below, the South Africans saw the issue in dogs, and apparently it's also been seen in foxes and other wild canids.
Baboon dog syndrome is differentiated from achondroplasia/dwarfism in that the latter usually/often produces animals with shortened limbs and a normal-length spine (resembling a Corgi), while baboon dog syndrome produces animals with what appear to be normal limbs under a half-length or apparently "missing" spine, and often a "bob" tail.
Here are the best references online: Genetics for Dog Breeders, by Frederick Bruce Hutt, which notes an inherited abnormality in dogs which results in an extreme shortening of the entire spinal structure, an illustration of an image by David Klocker Ehrenstrahl of a "fox-dog cross", unlikely due to differences in chromosomal number, with the condition
Animal Genetics, also by Frederick Bruce Hutt. Google Books indicates this book mentions "the baboon dogs of de Boom", described by Dr. H P A de Boom of the Veterinary Laboratory at Ondestepoort in South Africa, and contains photos of such dogs, showing the "typical humped back, short tail, and apparent lack of any neck".
There an article that referenced a paper by Hans-Jorgen Hansen called "Historical Evidence of an Unusual Deformity in Dogs (Short-Spine Dog)," which appeared in the Journal of Small Animal Practice. I learned that this syndrome was referenced all the way back in the 17th century in paintings done by David Klocker Ehrenstrahl, who referred to his subjects as "monster of wolf and dog" and "monster of fox and dog."
Hansen's article goes on the discuss more studies of these paintings by art critics who defined these dogs as evil, fantasy creatures and the unfortunate result of inbreeding. They all agreed the syndrome was a genetic phenomenon, which causes shortening of the spine and ligaments, a sloped profile, elongated front legs and hocked rear legs. They also describe the absence of a tail or a bobbed tail.
Discussions about short spine dogs were referenced again in a series of articles written between 1956-1961 discussing a native Japanese dog with the syndrome.
These articles were referenced in a book called " Genetics of the Dog" by Elaine Ostrander, published in 2001. The book traces the cause of the condition to inbreeding and also states that females tend to have longer heats that normal dogs and that if they can carry offspring at all, they generally only produce a single puppy.
Sometimes, tragically, by the time that a cryptid attracts mainstream scientific attention, it is too late - the creature in question has already become extinct. Certainly, for example, it may be too late to secure a specimen of a still-unidentified creature formerly reported from Mexico, the unpronounceable izcuintlipotzotli - because it has not been reported for more than 150 years.
This bizarre beast first came to attention in 1780, courtesy of a tome entitled "Mexico's Ancient History", penned by Jesuit priest Father Francisco Javier Clavijero, a highly respected New World scholar. Inhabiting the Tarascan region of Michoacan in western Mexico, the izcuintlipotzotli was the size of a maltese terrier, with a small, wolf-like head, extremely short neck, lumpy muzzle, and small pendant ears. Strangely, its forelimbs were notably shorter than the hindlimbs, its skin was mottled with black, brown, and white spots, and most striking of all, a grotesque hump, but possibly fatty rather than bony in composition) extended the entire length of its back, from its shoulders to its haunches. Indeed, part of its name, "potzotli", translates as "hunchback".
So singular was its appearance that some zoologists questioned the accepted belief that the izcuintlipotzotli was a breed of dog (albeit an emphatically homely one), even speculating that it may be some exotic species of rodent! However, the few known engravings of it that exist (such as the example opening this present ShukerNature blog post) suggest that this idiosyncratic entity was even less like a rodent than a dog.
Whatever it was, however, the izcuintlipotzotli is no more. What appears to be the last documented mention of such a creature occurred in 1843, within Frances Calderon de la Barca's book Life in Mexico, noting a dead specimen that she saw hanging from a hook near the door of an inn visited by her in the valley of Guajimalco. I am not aware of any preserved museum specimens either. If anyone reading this does have any additional information, however, concerning the seemingly demised izcuintlipotzotli, I would greatly welcome receiving it.
World Ugliest Dog Contest - So Ugly That They are Cute!
Thanks to the internet, the World's Ugliest Dog Contest is growing more and more in popularity every year. People seem to go crazy over the photos, partly because these dogs are so ugly that they are actually huggable. I know that is weird but it's true.
That works with babies and dogs, not so much with adult humans. The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.
Natural ugliness is just one of the judging benchmarks. The judges also score the dogs on their first impression, unusual attributes, personality, and audience impression. Many of the dogs have been rescued from shelters and puppy mills as well, according to organizers.
Quasi Modo had been abandoned at an animal shelter before a veterinarian in Loxahatchee, Florida, adopted her. Twenty-four dogs, including Quasi Modo, participated in the contest and the winner was decided by a three-judge panel. The dogs are scored on their imperfections, and several categories, including natural ugliness or unusual attributes.
A 10-year-old mutt named Quasi Modo, whose spinal birth defects left him a bit hunchbacked, is the winner of this year's World's Ugliest Dog contest. Quasi Modo was abandoned at an animal shelter before being adopted by a veterinarian in Loxahatchee, Florida, according to his biography posted on the contest's website.
An 8-year-old Chihuahua named Precious received the "spirit award," honoring a dog and owner who have overcome obstacles and or are providing service to the community. Precious, who is blind in one eye, is trained to monitor smells related to low blood sugar levels and alert her owner, a disabled veteran, of the problem, her biography said.
UGLIEST DOG CONTEST WINNERS
Quasimodo My appearance can be a little unsettling to some (I have had grown men jump on top of their cars to get away from me because they thought I was a hyena or Tasmanian devil) but once they get to know me I win them over with my bubbly personality
Sweepee
Frodo
ICKY
MOLLY
BUBBERS
ZOOMER
RUE
ANGUS
ANDRE
ISABOO
CYNDY LOW WHOO
MONKEY
BLANQUITO
KATANA
DONKI
MOCH
PORK
CHUY
SMEAGLE
BOOLAH
SWEEPIE
CHECK OTHER CONTEST PARTICIPANTS at WWW.SONOMA MARINFAIR.ORG
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