You’ve likely heard of the phrase “runt of the litter”. Well, in this case, it’s a very literal thing.
Meet Ranger, the mini-GSD, who, quite literally, refuses to grow up.
While it’s not of his own volition, rest assured that he’s a perfectly healthy boy even though he’s still small at the age of 5.
Ranger’s appearance is absolutely adorable, though he does suffer from a condition known as pituitary dwarfism.[1]
A condition which keeps him at a relatively small size, equivalent to that of a cat, and can come with a few pitfalls in terms of health issues and overall life expectancy.
However, breakthroughs in recent years have managed to improve on that through new medical treatments, helping facilitate a bit of growth and preventing chronic kidney disease.
Ranger Never Complained
However, as far as we know, Ranger has never complained about this and has been pretty chill about everything.
In fact, he does the opposite of what other dwarfism-affected dogs would do and exudes spunkiness and confidence.
He always believes himself to be in charge and feels like he can contend with the big dogs, always playing with them and trying to race them.
While precious to see, his spirit is quite commendable and inspirational in a way.
Always An Active Little Camper
Despite his condition, he maintains a lively attitude and enjoys playing with everyone.
His tough guy act may be somewhat believable if he was a bit bigger, but once his high-pitched barks come out, it’s hard to see him as anything other than a precious little furball.
There was an initial scare for the owners when they realized what his condition was, but that was mostly due to lack of information at the time.
The few odd signs of fur loss and the lack of growth certainly gave them a fright, but they’ve since had the dog on medication and there haven’t been any malicious developments as of yet.
A Story That Touched Thousands Of Hearts
While he may try to act like a big dog, he’s still not averse to enjoying the privileges of his puppy-like appearance.
He enjoys getting carried and pampered, especially since no other dog around him gets such treatment, making him even more confident because he sees himself as special.
The story of this young dog has gone viral and has garnered Ranger well over 100k followers on Instagram.
If you’re as curious as we are to further developments to Ranger’s story and the hijinks he gets up to, or if you just want to look at his adorable mug some more, I suggest giving it a peek.
Until next time, pet parents!
References:
[1] Stefanie K., Katrin H., Yury Z., Anna R., Ralf M., Astrid W. (August, 2021.), Wellbeing, quality of life, presence of concurrent diseases, and survival times in untreated and treated German Shepherd dogs with dwarfism, DOI
