A chihuahua puppy due to be euthanized after he was born with only two legs has been saved after being adopted. Deuce, now two months old, lives happily with Ken Rogers and his wife, Melissa, at their Steamboat Springs, Colorado home.

Deuce is just the latest addition to their vast family of animals. Which includes seven other dogs and two cats, almost all of whom are disabled.

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Two-month-old Chihuahua puppy Deuce was faced with being put down after being born to an owner in Texas who didn’t want him but has now been saved by Ken Rogers (pictured) and his wife, Melissa.
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Deuce was handed to a pet rescue center after being born with the condition that he had no front legs, and the center contacted Ken and Melissa.
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Ken and his wife Melissa, from Colorado, own seven other dogs and two cats, almost all of whom have disabilities, so they decided to look after Deuce.
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Mr. Rogers said that, since coming home, Deuce had been a welcome addition to the family and most enjoyed crawling into people’s shirts and falling asleep.
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Mr. Rogers will now make a special harness with three wheels attached to the bottom that Deuce can use to go outside and at feeding times.

Ken Rogers told us

We have eight dogs with 19 legs. It started ten years ago when we adopted Kandu, our first disabled dog. 

‘We adopted Kandu, and ever since then, the disabled dogs have a way of finding us. My wife says people spin through their Rolodex until they get to “S” for “sucker” and then call us.’

Kandu, a Jack Russell who is now 13 years old. It was followed by a Chihuahua the couple named Footloose, or Lucy for short. He is now nine, and both of whom are missing front legs.

Doug, a two-year-old Red Setter, and Griff and Rupaul – named after the famous drag queen – are nine-month-old Chihuahuas. They also either miss front legs or have legs that don’t work.

Larry, another Jack Russel who is around ten years old, completes the couple’s family of disabled dogs, though he has three legs.

Jasmine, a four-year-old Labrador, completes the pack, though she is the odd one out, having all four working limbs.

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Deuce was born alongside sister Tres, who has all four of her legs but is missing the paw from her front left leg (pictured sleeping with Deuce)
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Mr. Rogers said the family decided against adopting Tres because they already had too many pets but felt they couldn’t leave Deuce behind.
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Mr. Rogers also runs a charity providing therapy dogs for people who have suffered trauma and hopes that one day Deuce might be able to join in

The couple also has two disabled cats

10-year-old Willow has no back legs or tail. And another four-year-old cat whose legs don’t work splays out to the side. 

They named her Mateez – the Hebrew word for ‘splat.’

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Mr. Rogers said he and his wife had always kept a dog, and at the time they adopted Kandu. They were thinking of using their animals as therapy dogs to help comfort people going through trauma.

As their collection of animals grew, they started up their non-profit organization. Colorado Comfort Canines, which Kandu, Jasmine, and Lucy all work for.

Mr. Rogers said he decided to add Deuce to the family after the Evergreen Animal Protective League. Which provides specialist care for disabled animals, contacted them two months ago.

They explained that an owner from Texas had been thinking of putting Deuce down. Along with his sister Tres, who was born without most of her left front paw.

The Rogers eventually agreed to take on Deuce, worried that adopting Tres would make their already packed home too complete.

A foster parent looked after Deuce for two months. And until he was finished bottle feeding and potty trained before the Rogers came to pick him up.

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Deuce is now settling into his new home along with the other disabled dogs that live there, including Kandu, 13 (left), two-year-old Doug  (center), and Footloose, nicknamed Lucy, 9 (right)
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Mr. Rogers told Mail Online that his family had always kept dogs, but Jack Russell Kandu was the first disabled dog they adopted ten years ago.
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Among Deuce’s new two-legged friends are Larry, another Jack Russell, who also has no front legs24

Mr. Rogers said:

Since coming home, Deuce has been great. Like a typical puppy, he is curious and wants to play with everyone. His favorite thing to do is crawl inside your shift and sleep.

We felt Deuce needed to be rescued and given a good home and a first chance to be an average dog.

‘We do treat our dogs like normal dogs. The only difference is when they want to go outside or to be fed. We must put them on their wheels, but how hard is that?

‘It can be difficult to wrangle them all at once when we’re out on a walk. But the neighbors love them and always come to see us.’

Working with online pet prosthetic store Orthopedics Mr. Rogers. Designs wheeled supports for his disabled animals, including special ski adapters so they can go outside in the snow.

But while he insists that the two-legged dogs are no problem to handle, Mr. Rogers. He works for the local community college. And his wife, who works as a nurse, said they have no plans to get any more.

He added: ‘I think we’ve almost officially reached the stage where we could be called hoarders. Eight is perhaps already four too many, and people are questioning our sanity.’.

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