As he zips through the grass happily chasing and roughhousing other dogs or snuggles into a warm lap for a nice nap, 1-year-old Bernard looks like any other Boston terrier.  

But as a young puppy, his appearance and life were much different. At 8 weeks old, Bernard was taken in by Dakota Dachshund Rescue in August 2024 after being brought to a veterinarian for euthanization. He was born with a parasitic twin, meaning at least one other embryo merged with his while in the womb and became dependent on his body for survival. 

As a result, Bernard was born with an extra pair of hind legs, two sets of male genitals, and a few other internal surprises uncovered as he went through veterinary evaluations. 

His medical needs were complex, and Diane Wade, director of Dakota Dachshund, knew the little pup would require specialized care. In the end, it would take a team of people across two states to help Bernard get his second chance. 

“It was no secret Bernard was new territory for all of us and that no one caring for him had ever seen or done surgery on a pup like him,” Wade says. “We all knew we were in this together.”

At home in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wade reached out to emergency veterinarian Julia Johnson to foster Bernard. When it came to addressing his medical conditions, Wade and Johnson turned to specialists at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center (VMC), which has treated several dogs rescued by Dakota Dachshund. 

While fostering Bernard, Johnson weathered many trials with him. If not kept in a cone, Bernard would chew on his extra feet until they bled—nearly biting through a toe on one occasion. His navel would leak fluid and become inflamed. Despite having two penises, he would urinate from a small hole beneath his rectum. On top of problems caused by his congenital abnormalities, he also contracted and beat parvovirus during his first few months with Johnson.

Despite all the challenges, Bernard persevered. 

“Bernard grew like a weed and was tearing around the house with energy despite the extra legs,” Johnson says. “As he got older, he got better and better at holding his urine. His feet healed completely, and after a long time of wearing a cone, he finally stopped chewing at them.”

When the time came for his consultation at the VMC’s Lewis Small Animal Hospital, Erin Smith, a resident veterinarian on the hospital’s Small Animal Surgery Service, oversaw Bernard’s case. His care team also included faculty and resident clinicians with the Small Animal Internal Medicine and Urology services due to the complex abnormalities affecting his internal organ structures and systems. 

Medical imaging and testing, as well as exploratory surgery, revealed the true extent of Bernard’s complicated anatomy. Among his issues were a missing kidney and an abnormal structure—known as a fistula—connecting his small intestine and bladder to his navel, explaining the leaking fluid. In addition to his two external penises and one testicle, three more testicles and a mass suspected to be an ovary were found inside his abdomen. 

“Bernard's care team was amazing,” Wade says. “None of Bernard's diagnostics yielded straightforward results. One of his medical imaging tests alone required a team of four specialists to review and re-review what they were seeing and then come up with a plan for his surgery.”

Over the course of a nearly 6-hour procedure in early February 2025, Bernard’s care team tackled an extensive list of repairs and extractions. They amputated his extra hind limbs and one of his penises, removed the suspected ovary and all of his testicles, secured his bladder to his abdominal wall for additional support, and repaired the fistula.

Recovery started off slow and steady for Bernard, but then he found himself back at the hospital about a month later when the bone in his remaining penis fractured and developed an E. coli infection. Surgeons amputated the organ, and Bernard continued healing. His prognosis is positive, but his congenital conditions do mean he’ll need monitoring for the remainder of his life. 

Helping Bernard was an expensive endeavor for Dakota Dachshund, but part of his surgery costs were covered by grants from the VMC Shelter & Rescue Fund. Thanks to the generosity of donors, this fund helps subsidize the cost of specialty veterinary care for animals under the care of qualified, 501(c)3 non-profit organizations.

“Without the grant from Shelter & Rescue Animal Fund, we could not have helped this little guy to the extent needed,” Wade says. “He has been a very expensive pup medically, but worth all the work. He has touched many lives in his journey.”

In the months since his procedures, Bernard has fully embraced life. He loves meeting new faces, whether they are people, dogs, or even cats. Despite his hospitalization and surgeries, he still enjoys going to the vet clinic. And without his extra limbs, he’s learned to sit like a typical dog.

“All in all, life has been difficult for Bernard, but you would never know it,” Wade says. “This incredible dog projects pure joy and love. Bernard can teach us many things, first and foremost being the magic of a second chance.”