Dogs: Six-legged puppy found dumped in car park

As well as her extra legs, Ariel also has two vulvas

A puppy born with six legs has been found dumped in a supermarket car park.

The 11-week-old female spaniel was discovered abandoned outside the Pembroke Dock branch of B&M in Pembrokeshire last week.

As well as her extra hind limbs, she was also revealed to have two vulvas.

More than £2,000 has been raised to have her two extra back legs surgically removed, but vets have warned she could also lose one of her remaining "normal" back legs in the process.

After being picked up in a state of distress by a passer-by on Wednesday, the animal was taken to Greenacres Rescue near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, by the council's dog warden.

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She was given a check-up at the town's Fenton Vets where she was named Ariel after Disney's The Little Mermaid - staff there having likened her additional back legs, which are partially fused together, to a mermaid's tail.

"When Ariel was brought into our centre she was very scared and timid," said Mikey Lawlor, Greenacres' founder and manager.

"She spent that first night at home with me and she was almost completely shut down due to everything she'd been through."

Ariel's extra hind legs are fused together and resemble a mermaid's tail

The 42-year-old said he did not think Ariel had been left to fend for herself for very long.

"It had been raining previously, but when she was found her coat was dry - neither was she hungry or particularly underweight."

Mr Lawlor described the two conjoined extra legs growing on the right-hand side of Ariel's tail as "essentially one thigh bone which then splits into two shin bones at the knee joint, but they are not functional and "serve no purpose at all".

Due to having two hip joints on one side, Ariel's pelvis has not formed properly.

"As a result her normal back right leg has virtually no muscle tone, so that might have to come off too," said Mr Lawlor.

Rescue staff worried Ariel might also have duplicate internal organs, but X-rays have showed this is not the case

Mr Lawlor said Ariel's extra vulva will also have to be removed, but that will be done when she is ready for neutering.

"So the plan now is to give Ariel a month to get over her ordeal and settle into life with a foster family, during which time we'll monitor her and see how she gets on."

As well as the thousands raised towards Ariel's treatment by members of the public, Mr Lawlor revealed Greenacres had already received more than 200 offers from people wanting to adopt her.

"We aren't taking applications at the moment though, not until we know for definite what the future is going to hold for her," he said.