A miniature Jack Russell crossed with a teacup Chihuahua is so small and fragile he is taken for walks – in a baby’s PUSHCHAIR.
Little pet Dobbie was dumped on a rescue centre by his owners because of his odd dome-shaped skull.
The bones in the poor mutt’s head never fused properly leaving his brain dangerously exposed.
Dobbie is being cared for by a foster family who have to make sure the puppy is always in a soft environment so he doesn’t get hurt.
He cannot play with other dogs and is the envy of other pooches as he wafts around in a pink PUSHCHAIR.
Dobbie is too small to wear a dog collar or harness but foster mother Shelley Ridgeon plans to get him a rabbit collar to wear.
The pink pushchair was donated after an appeal by Ravenswood Pet Rescue, who rescued Dobbie after the dog warden of a London borough discovered him abandoned.
Mother-of-five Shelley, 37, said: “We’re so grateful to the person who donated the pram.
“Dobbie loves sitting in it and it means I can take him out for a walk with the other dogs.”
Shelley, from March, Cambs., hopes Dobbie will be rehomed in six months if his head is fixed.
She said: “The vet says that Dobbie cannot be re-homed at the moment because of his skull.
“We have to watch out for signs like Dobbie suffering seizures or if he walks funny, to see whether he has any neurological problems.
“If we haven’t seen evidence of this in six months then we can find him a new home.”
Dobbie now weighs 1.1 kilos – 100 grams more than when he was taken in by Shelley two and a half weeks ago.
He is so tiny that he can easily fit in a shoe, and is the same size as one and a half cans of Coca Cola.
Because he is so tiny he “feels the cold easily”, Shelley said.
She added: “He loves to play and to be cuddled. I don’t think he’s had a massive amount of human interaction because he likes to be picked up all the time.”
Caroline Trigg, 42, who founded Ravenswood Pet Rescue in Norfolk eight years ago, believes that Dobbie was the last of the litter and abandoned because of his skull deformity.
She said: “He was probably dumped as a stray as he couldn’t be sold because of his head.”
Caroline and Shelley are hoping to get Dobbie a soft, padded, plastic helmet, to protect his weak head.
Caroline said: “I’m going to speak to the vets at the local vet collage to see whether they can make something for him.”
Ravenswood Pet Rescue is a small, self-funded and non-profit rescue home totally run by volunteers.
They have about 10-25 dogs at any one time and over the last six years have looked after have nearly 3,000.
According to Caroline, 50 percent of the dogs that are rescued need major medical attention one way or another.
