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Lovable Dog Almost Gets Euthanized Because of His Facial Deformities
Meet Picasso, a 10-month-old pitbull-terrier who is stealing the hearts of everyone on the internet.
Picasso was born with a facial deformity that causes his snout and jaw to go in opposite directions. Because of the unusual jaw alignment, his teeth stick out making it a bit harder for him to eat. Besides the facial deformity, Picassso is super healthy.
“He can eat sideways, but he’s a very messy eater,” Liesl Wilhardt, executive director of Luvable Dog Rescue, told The Huffington Post. “Same with water.”
Picasso and his brother, Pablo, were born to a backyard breeder and brought to the Porterville Animal Shelter after no one would buy them. They were both put on the list to be euthanized, but luckily Wilhardt saved them at the last minute.
“I was talking to volunteer Shannon Corbit about the dogs we were receiving and just happened to ask her out of the blue if she had any unusual-looking or special needs dogs,” Wilhardt told The Dodo. “She responded, ‘Well, as a matter of fact, I do!’ and she sent me Picasso’s shelter intake photo.”
She continued, “He was curled in a dog bed, and looked very sad. His twisted face was startling, but he had soft and gentle eyes, and for me it was love at first sight!”
Wilhardt also made sure to take in Pablo.
“I could not imagine leaving the brother behind to die, so I checked with Ashley, our Luvable manager, to be sure we had the space for both, and then told Shannon to pull them off the euthanasia list — Luvable would take both boys,” Wilhardt said to The Dodo.
Wilhardt plans to have Picasso’s teeth aligned to help him eat better. Once he is recovered from the surgery, Wilhardt plans to put the brothers up for adoption together.
“There is absolutely no reason to explain why they were unwanted and taken to a shelter, except for the fact that they were born in an area with a lot of unwanted dogs due to a lack of spay and neuter to control the dog population,” Wilhardt said to The Dodo. “We love them. I wish we could keep them but they really are awesome dogs and deserve a home and family of their own.”
It doesn’t seem like Picasso and Pablo will have a hard time getting adopted this time around. A video of Picasso has even gone viral with over 46,000 views!
“Picasso is outgoing, happy, curious and loving,” Wilhardt said to The Huffington Post. “He’s so unaware of how different he is.”