Woman Tries to Stop the Canine Freak Show

A kind-hearted woman tries to stop the canine freak show. All we can say is "Good luck with that!:

From The Charlotte Observor:

How much would you pay for a dog with five legs?

If you're Allyson Siegel, the answer is $4,000, plus at least $2,000 more for medical expenses to remove said leg.

The 45-year-old Charlotte woman bought Precious the puppy – whom she has renamed Lilly – from Gastonia resident Calvin Owensby last week because she couldn't bear to see her sold to a show that features deformed animals.

Lilly was born about six weeks ago to Owensby's Chihuahua Diamond and is a Chihuahua-terrier mix. One of six puppies, she seemed healthy, except for the extra appendage. The fifth leg, white and without feeling, hangs down between her two back legs.

When John Strong, the owner of a Coney Island sideshow, heard about Lilly from a friend, he knew he had to have her.

Owensby asked for $3,000, and Strong immediately agreed to the price. “There are millions of dogs with four legs, and there are only three with five legs I'm aware of,” said Strong, who makes it his business to find the deformed animals.

Ms. Siegel says she was motivated by a simple creed: “Don't do to animals what you wouldn't do to your kids.”

Wow! There's a idea.

I wonder how many dog owners would like to have children born with the same deformities -- flattened faces, bowed legs, dwarfism, bulging eyes -- that they cherish and find so adorable in dogs?

For the record, along with paying $4,000 for the dog, Ms. Siegel will now shell out another $2,000 for surgery to remove the Chihuahua's extra leg, which is tripping the dog as it tries to walk. Then, if the Chihuahua survives the surgery, she will give the pup to her sister.

Meanwhile, across America, breeders are no doubt trying to figure out how to breed more five-legged puppies so they can be sold for $4,000 apiece.

What teratogens might work to fuel the twisted get-rich-quick dog breeder schemes that are sure to follow?
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