Ranger is a German Shepherd who looks like a puppy, but is, in fact, two years old! The cutie’s owner is Phoenix-based Shelby Mayo who says Ranger has a genetic condition called pituitary dwarfism. This condition caused his permanently small stature.
Mayo spoke with South Wales News Service (SWNS) that she saw Ranger was the runt of the litter but didn’t know that he would stay puppy-sized forever. Actually, she thought he was smaller than the others because of a parasite.
“When we originally got Ranger from the breeder, he was smaller than all his other littermates, but we figured that was because he had a parasite,” she told the outlet, according to the New York Post.
According to Claudia E. Reusch, the condition appears in German Shepherds as a result of “autosomal recessive inheritance” (or recessive gene inheritance). Mayo reassured that Ranger is a healthy, happy dog!
“He is healthy and happy as can be as of now and loves jumping around and playing with his ball and squeaky toys with his two sisters Hazel and Jessie,” she said.