King (as he was originally called) was found abandoned in a forest in Russia.. either left to die by his human owners, or, if part of a wild pack, by the rest of his family, because he was born with no front legs - actually they are partially developed with only the front left being really visible but he has next to no use of it at all.

He was found by a walker who took him to a private rescue centre, Valentina who runs it is well known there for taking in strays and abandoned and neglected dogs and cats and works with some contacts in Germany to find homes for them in western Europe, which is how we found out about him.

Two weeks ago a volunteer in Frankfurt flew to Moscow to bring him over, another then drove him down to another volunteer in the south of Germany, where we collected him from.

He's about 5 months old and a real charmer, our 2 Rottis took to him immediately, Kyra (typical bitch) can be quite jealous but I think her maternal instinct has kicked in and Dylan, well he just loves everybody and everything anyway and follows the little fella around offering him toys to play with.

He's already very mobile but I'm working on a harness with an aluminium frame to take a couple of front wheels and he should be even more mobile pretty soon. We have an old babies buggy to take him the 200m or so to the stable, but the first time we tried it he jumped out after 10m and hopped and slid the rest of the way there, desperate to keep up with the other dogs. At the moment we are training him to walk on his back legs with the use of a harness with a handle, we sort of carry him along to get his back legs working and he really enjoys this work.

Here's a few pics of him, starting when he was first rescued in Russia, you can see how ill he was, and then some here on the farm. I will be bringing him into Zurich and to some events next year, and the few of you here who have already met him will confirm, he will soon have captured many more hearts.













and a little video of him the first time he came to the stable with us, he's desperate not to be left alone!

He is adorable and you have a big heart! Lucky him and lucky you.

He is such a lucky boy to have found such a wonderful home!!

I love the photo of one of the rottis looking at him as to say -

" Stick by me and you'll be just fine "

Dear King Nelson - I am so, so pleased to meet you - I imagine you are settling in really well with your new family. I look forward to hearing more about you in the near future. Please say a big hello to all your new friends. Take care now!

Thanks for sharing!

Should give anybody buying cheese from you a good feeling, seeing who they support ;-)

Seriously - big hearts at work here, keep it up!

grumpy, thank you. it's people like you who bring me back down to earth and make me realize the important things in life.

the last pic.. just before the video... it just looks like your rotti is turning around to ask him "ya'll right mate?"


great pics. and a wonderful story.. thanks for caring, thanks for sharing.

He is such a pretty boy. I'm so glad the other 2 have taken too him, it's probably because he's so young. Thanks for sharing. What a lucky boy he is to have landed a fantastic home.

I'm not particularly an animal lover but King Nelson is one darling dog. You've done good, Grumpy.

It is just so amazing how animals adapt if they loose a leg or two.

You are such a wonderful person to take King Nelson into your home and I can't wait to see him with his set of wheels.

This story has made me have a few tears of happiness and its lovely to know that there are people out there in the world who have a big heart.

You never cease to amaze me!

I am proud to know you and wish we could all have just 10% of the generosity you have.

What a lucky pup and a gorgeous addition to your ever growing family

Hopefully we can bring mini mimi up to meet him next summer!

ftfy

Great story and pleased to see that he's settling in. The only thing I could think about watching him in that video was how often he must need a bath!!!

That's just awesome GG, he looks so happy there .

If you need any little metal parts made for his cart I know this odd hermit in Nyon who can sort you out .

King Nelson is gorgeous! In the video he looks like a kangaroo hopping away.

Thanks for giving him a home. You have a HUGE heart.

Although I had heard about this boy a while back, it still brings tears to my eyes to see the pictures, it's so moving. What a wonderful thing you have done here - yet again. He has such a beautiful face and to be so friendly despite what's happened to him - amazing.

I'll be making "Wheels Mark I" this week and then will find out where the weak bits are and can tweak the design, I might well need the services of a proper hermit engineer for a curved axle.... I'd like the wheels to be angled outwards to give him more stability on our very uneven ground. I also have an idea that he will need a sled or ski attachment if this snow continues for much longer.

He's fast asleep on the kitchen floor right now, using my foot as a pillow but I guess he will be awake again soon and will be hopping and sliding around the house and trying to wake the Rottis up for one more game.

He obviously doesn't know that there is anything wrong with him and our intention is not to pamper him or pay too much attention to his problems, he seems to be coping just fine without too much intervention from us, and that can only make him stronger. Our only real concern is back and hip problems that may develop in later life if we don't get his wheels right.

Ahhh, he is completely and utterly adorable, that video was so cute, and its obvious he has bags of character. He hops around like a Kanga... no... Dogaroo.

Good on you for giving him a comfy home, and nice to see the other animals all took to him instantly too.

Good for you GG et al.

And certainly much gentler on the eyes than your last avatar...

GG you and your wife are stars. He's so cute.