The story of Spyder, the six-legged deer found in Rome who captivated people across the nation, included a remarkable journey from his rescue in Floyd County last month to his surgery at an animal clinic in Athens to remove his two extra legs.
Click to see a video of Spyder.
Unfortunately, the story has a sad ending. Two days after last week’s surgery at Mars Hill Animal Hospital, Spyder died Aug. 20 in what veterinarians called a “vascular accident.”
“It appears that something must have clotted in his cardio system, or he had some kind of stroke,” said Dr. Joey Gross, one of the two surgeons who worked on Spyder. “We did an autopsy, but we’re not sure exactly what happened. It’s very unfortunate, and you hate to go through that and not have him have a normal life, but we were glad to at least get the opportunity.”
Click to read July, 22, July 24 and Aug. 19 articles about Spyder.
Gross and Dr. Tim Crowe performed the 3½-hour surgery Aug. 18, removing both of the inner legs, which hindered the deer’s normal gait. The hope was that by amputating the extra legs, Spyder would be able to walk more normally as he grew older.
Spyder was found in the Everett Springs community in late July by Alan and Melissa Dunagan. They rescued the deer from their dogs, which tried to chase it. Dr. Dan Pate at
West Rome Animal Clinic cared for it initially, along with George Gallagher, a professor of animal science at Berry College.
The deer then went to Athens to a private individual’s rehabilitation facility.
Veterinarians said they are not sure why the animal had the extra appendages, but it could have been a twin that did not completely develop.
“We saved some tissue samples from the deer, and we called a geneticist who is going to do some research on it,” Gross said.
“There was probably more going on inside of him than we could visualize,” Gross said.
Gross said after the surgery Spyder appeared to be healing fine, but the death was sudden. It is not known if the death had anything to do with the surgery.
“It’s sad and frustrating because he was moving around and appeared to be eating and healing normally,” Gross said. “He was a very good-natured animal, and people got attached to him very quickly.”
