Have you got the muscles strong enough to push a 5st 3lbs dog around in a pram?
Well, you might be just who lovely Hugo is looking for.
The mastiff, who’s nearly two, was born with bone deformities in his legs due to unscrupulous breeding.
Poor Hugo, who ended up needing to have one of his legs amputated – is always falling off things and stumbling over because he forgets he’s only got three legs.
His disability means his dedicated fosterer, Nikita William, does her best to take him for walks in a pushchair.
But, standing at just 5ft 4ins tall, which is the same length hefty Hugo is from head to tail, and weighing in at just under three stone less than the dog, Nikita can struggle.
Nikita said: ‘He was born with one leg severely deformed and all his other legs were deformed.
“He has had an operation on his one leg to have that removed.
‘His other legs were X-rayed, and we were told there’s nothing we could really do, we’d just have to see how he coped.
‘He’s only a young pup, and he wasn’t coping very well in the kennels, so they rang me and asked if I knew anyone who could look after him – I went and got him the next day.’
Poor Hugo was first sold to owners who failed to get him the medical help he needed for his deformed leg, and they cruelly abandoned him when they moved abroad.
He was rescued by Hull Animal Welfare – and Nikita instantly fell for him.
Nikita, of Leamington Spa, West Midlands, said owners like Hugo’s who don’t get their pets professional help when they need it are guilty of neglect.
Hugo has now been left with severe bone deformities in his other legs because he was relying on just three limbs to support all his significant weight.
Vets are working on sorting the pooch out with a wheelchair, but for now, he needs the pram.
Even though it’s a lot of work, Nikita says it’s all worth it.
She said: ‘He’s a big boy, he’s 34kg, and I’m only about eight stone.
‘He’s heavy – he’s had me over once, and I’ve done my back in.
‘It’s just getting him in and out of the pushchair, although he is very good with it now.’
Hugo has taken to his pushchair like a ‘duck to water’, with Nikita saying he’s perfectly happy being pushed around like a little lord.
Now, the goal is to find him his forever home with people who can meet his needs.
Nikita said his ideal owner would be ‘strong’ and have lots of time to see to Hugo’s unique needs and help him to play.
In his mind, the dog is a typical lively 18-month-old pup, but his physical state doesn’t quite match his energy levels.
Hugo is also ‘goofy’ and ‘loves everybody’, and it’ll be hard not to cave to his ‘big, sad eyes’.
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