Playing in the backyard with his canine siblings, Joey looks like any other playful dog. Except for one difference: Instead of running around, the tiny pup is hopping. With only two back legs and a set of wheels he’s not overly fond of, Joey’s preferred way of travel is jumping around on two legs.
Born in Connecticut with no front legs, Joey had trouble finding a family. While all his littermates were adopted, he was left behind. But now he has a loving family of his own, and he’ll make his television debut in Puppy Bowl XIX on Sunday.
Joey arrived at Vintage Pet Rescue back in July. Alex Petrarca, the operations manager at Vintage Pets, tells Daily Paws they mostly rescue senior dogs, however, they occasionally take in younger dogs and puppies with special needs who need more medical attention than the average pup.
After being born to a family in Connecticut, Joey was the only puppy in his litter who wasn’t adopted after he was born without his front two legs. Even though he doesn’t have any other medical problems, the family didn’t know what to do with him, so they reached out to the Connecticut Humane Society, which then contacted Vintage Pet Rescue.
Petarca works remotely, but she was able to meet Joey a few weeks after he arrived at the rescue.
“I was just taken aback by how cute he is,” Petarca tells Daily Paws. “He was like the nicest puppy I’d ever met, so chill and calm. And he’s super playful, but to people, he’s super calm and just very affectionate and snuggly and super cute.”
When Cathy Larson first came across Joey on Facebook, she “instantly fell in love with him.” With five other dogs, one of them having three legs, Larson knew Joey had to be a member of their pack. Larson, who lives in Rhode Island, reached out to Vintage Pet and followed Joey’s journey until he was ready for adoption. When they met in person for the first time, Larson says it was a “perfect fit.”