This rambunctious German shepherd might look like a puppy, but he is 4 1/2 years old. Owing to a rare condition, he will remain small his entire life.
The dog, Ranger, is generating an army of fans on social media for his unusual looks and funny antics, and his owner, Shelby Mayo, 20, a student nurse at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, is using the platform to help educate breeders about his condition.
“We knew him from pretty much right when he was born,” Shelby told The Epoch Times. “We didn’t know about his dwarfism probably about until he was a year old.”
Ranger’s diminished size owes to a condition known as pituitary dwarfism, but it means much more than a pint-sized frame and cute Instagram photos. Ranger also has a reduced life expectancy.
“He won’t grow big like a regular German shepherd,” Shelby explained. “He has what’s called hypothyroidism ... so he has to be on medication for the rest of his life.”
According to Shelby, there’s not a ton of research on dwarfism in dogs.
“From what we have been told, vets have said around three years is the life expectancy,” Shelby explained.
Despite his condition, Ranger lives and behaves “just like a healthy pup,” she said. “He likes to run around, he likes to play, so in that aspect, I don’t really think he’s ever let it get in his way of having a fun life.”
Neither did Ranger.
“I’m like ... ‘You’re famous on Instagram,’ and he just doesn’t know!” said Shelby. “I think that’s really cool.”
Ranger got his name from Shelby’s father’s late best friend, a ranger in the army. His sibling, another German shepherd, took the ranger’s first name: Jesse. The pair are inseparable, said Shelby, despite the fact that Ranger “thinks he’s a big dog” and dominates over his gentle sister.
“He’s also a talker. When he’s playing, he'll talk. He’s crazy,” she said of his personality. “He’s really cuddly sometimes, and he’s very emotional; he can pick up on social cues very easily.”
The height-challenged pup likes to bite ankles and fluffy socks, Shelby conceded, but his tiny teeth cause no harm.
Ranger’s Instagram page was started before the family became aware that he was a dwarf. “The original followers have been with us through a very long journey, and we’ve learned a lot from other people reaching out to us,” Shelby said.
The main goal of the page now, according to Shelby, is to “raise awareness of inbreeding, especially in purebred dogs such as German shepherds, because it is a little bit glorified ... but it is a genetic deformity.”
“We’ve gotten really, really lucky with Ranger that this is the extent of the issues he’s had,” she added.
After talking to dog owners who lost their pets to pituitary dwarfism, Shelby and Darcy are determined to help inform breeders and encourage steps toward preventing future incidents. To any dog owners who spot the tell-tale signs of small stature coupled with hair loss, Shelby advises, “Get tested; consult with your vet.”
Shelby shared that Ranger’s journey to becoming the playful canine that he is today hasn’t been easy. He has overcome a parasite—giardia—sustained a bite to the neck that got infected, and later developed stomach ulcers.
“Sometimes, he‘ll not want to eat at all,” said Shelby. “There’s been a few times we’ve been worried ... you’d try to hand-feed him absolutely anything, and he would completely refuse. He would get really skinny and we were afraid he would die.”
Yet the family eventually found a treatment plan that worked for Ranger, including thyroid medication and fish oil for his hair loss, allowing him to live the life he deserves.
Meanwhile, Ranger has also surpassed the life expectancy the vets gave him.
“We don’t know how long his life will truly be, but we’re hoping it'll be a full one,” Shelby said.
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