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A pooch born with half a spine is just one of 30 dogs in the world living with the condition. Cooper, a two-year-old American foxhound, lives with short spine syndrome, a genetic condition caused by inbreeding where vertebrae are fused together and compressed.
The pup was rescued by animal control officers in summer 2017, close to a suspected puppy farm in Halifax, Virginia. Animal control officers believe that the two-month-old pup was abandoned because of his birth defect.