Miracle Pup Ariel, the Cocker Spaniel with a Mermaid’s Tail, Triumphs Over Rare Congenital Anomaly after Specialist Surgery at Langford Vets
Ariel is a five-month-old Cocker Spaniel whose story has received a lot of attention from around the world! After being abandoned at 11 weeks of age, she was taken in by Greenacres Rescue. Initial examinations and investigations by Fenton Vets and the SMART clinic found that she had two additional limbs fused together and an extra vulva. The additional limbs resembled a mermaid’s tail leading to the name Ariel.
Ariel was first referred to Langford Vets Small Animal Hospital in November 2023 for an CT scan and retrograde fluoroscopy, which revealed the full extent of the issue. The right hemipelvis was duplicated giving an additional large acetabulum. The abnormal two supernumerary hindlimbs, which were mirror images of each other and partially fused together, formed a joint with this large acetabulum. Fortunately, Ariel then had a right hindlimb which was relatively normal skeletally, just missing several muscles so we aimed to preserve this leg. The main right external iliac blood supply was also duplicated so each limb had a separate arterial supply and venous drainage. Finally, Ariel had a blind right uterine horn and her right kidney was absent. These changes were considered analogous to Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome in people, an extremely rare congenital anomaly. Her second vulva was not connected to any internal reproductive organs.
Ariel was first referred to Langford Vets Small Animal Hospital in November 2023 for an CT scan and retrograde fluoroscopy, which revealed the full extent of the issue. The right hemipelvis was duplicated giving an additional large acetabulum. The abnormal two supernumerary hindlimbs, which were mirror images of each other and partially fused together, formed a joint with this large acetabulum. Fortunately, Ariel then had a right hindlimb which was relatively normal skeletally, just missing several muscles so we aimed to preserve this leg. The main right external iliac blood supply was also duplicated so each limb had a separate arterial supply and venous drainage. Finally, Ariel had a blind right uterine horn and her right kidney was absent. These changes were considered analogous to Herlyn-Werner-Wunderlich syndrome in people, an extremely rare congenital anomaly. Her second vulva was not connected to any internal reproductive organs.
Although Ariel was initially referred to one of our Orthopaedic specialists, due to the multiple complex abnormalities, other specialists from the Soft Tissue Surgery, Radiology and Anaesthesia teams were also involved in creating her tailored treatment plan. At the beginning of January, Ariel had surgery to remove her ovaries. Once she had recovered from this surgery, the soft tissue surgery team consisting of specialist surgeon Ed Friend and resident Aaron Lutchman operated to remove her additional limbs. Great care was taken not to damage any of the nerves or blood vessels to the right hindlimb that was being preserved to ensure this remained as functional as possible. Ariel will need a prolonged period of physiotherapy to try to build up muscle mass on her remaining right hindlimb to compensate for the missing muscles but is already exceeding expectations.
Ariel benefitted from a large team of multiple specialists at Langford Vets to ensure all aspects of her multidisciplinary care were considered carefully together. At Langford Vets, we are proud to innovate and treat unique cases such as Ariel’s. Because Langford Vets is wholly owned by the University of Bristol, we are committed to the career-long learning of veterinary surgeons. During her stay, Ariel was cared for by undergraduate veterinary and veterinary nurse students, through to interns and residents up to specialist vets and nurses. We are really pleased with how Ariel has recovered so far. She has a great positive attitude and we’re sure she will have a bright future ahead when she finds her forever home.
Watch BBC Points West interview our Senior Clinician in Soft Tissue Surgery, Ed Friend.
Ariel benefitted from a large team of multiple specialists at Langford Vets to ensure all aspects of her multidisciplinary care were considered carefully together. At Langford Vets, we are proud to innovate and treat unique cases such as Ariel’s. Because Langford Vets is wholly owned by the University of Bristol, we are committed to the career-long learning of veterinary surgeons. During her stay, Ariel was cared for by undergraduate veterinary and veterinary nurse students, through to interns and residents up to specialist vets and nurses. We are really pleased with how Ariel has recovered so far. She has a great positive attitude and we’re sure she will have a bright future ahead when she finds her forever home.
Watch BBC Points West interview our Senior Clinician in Soft Tissue Surgery, Ed Friend.
“Ariel was a complicated little dog whose care required close collaboration across several of our specialist led teams including Orthopaedics, Soft Tissue Surgery, Anaesthesia and Radiology. We are delighted such a lovely dog has recovered from her surgery well. As a centre committed to career long learning we are proud to innovate and treat pets like Ariel. Ariel deservedly has many devoted supporters; it was a great pleasure to treat her and work with Greenacres Rescue.”
About Langford Vets
As an educational veterinary group, with a not-for-profit owner (University of Bristol), Langford Vets are proud to provide your pet with a superior quality of care through our extensive range of specialist capabilities. We have the largest team of American and European Specialists in the Southwest of England. We are members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Practice Standards Scheme.
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As featured on BBC News and other media outlets from around the world.