Sandy the 'wonky' German Shepherd gets new home
An abandoned dog with deformed "wonky" legs brought to the UK from Greece has been given a new home after spending two months in the care of a vet.
Pat Clark, of Essex-based Mutts in Distress, raised funds to bring Sandy to England and a Cambridge vet operated on his legs free of charge.
Cambridge surgeon Chaim Pilosof inserted specially-made plates into the dog's legs to straighten them.
Sandy faces further physiotherapy but has now been adopted by Mrs Clark.
Mr Pilosof, of Companion Care Vets, and Mrs Clark heard about Sandy, a 10-month-old German Shepherd through contacts at a Corfu animal sanctuary.
"I saw a picture of Sandy and knew we had to bring him here," Mrs Clark said.
"He was so bow-legged and wonky he was almost walking on his chest."
The type of surgery needed to rectify the bone deformity was "not available" in Corfu, Mrs Clark added.
After two operations and intensive physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, the dog has been rehomed at Mrs Clark's animal sanctuary in Little Hallingbury.
Sandy's deformity is thought to have been caused by poor nutrition while he was still in the womb, Mr Pilosof said.
"He's not 100% yet, but he's getting there. He still gets very tired and has to build up his muscles," he added.
"We will all miss Sandy at the practice, even though not being house-trained [he] did not make our nurses' lives any easier.
"I hope he will keep improving and I know he will have the happiest life possible."
Mrs Clark said Sandy had settled into his new home "wonderfully" over the weekend.