‘Jimothy’ the raccoon has short spine syndrome – but this condition can affect dogs, too

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet in recent days, you will likely have seen the viral footage of “Jimothy”: an unusually round raccoon in Seattle that hops and skips along in video filmed by local resident Kiana Hall.



This animal has a very rare congenital deformity called short spine syndrome, where the spine fails to develop properly in utero.

In fact, the condition can affect dogs, calves and other mammals – but is so vanishingly rare that in my entire career, having treated thousand and thousands of small animals, I have never seen a clinical case…

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