Meet Rhode Island Dog Born with 2 Legs Is Set to Star in Puppy Bowl

The MVP of Sunday’s Puppy Bowl is already decided for several Rhode Islanders. It’s Joey, an enthusiastic little dog born on Christmas Day 2021 with no front legs.

Originally named “Christmas” about his birthday, his Rhode Island rescuers changed Joey’s name for the way he hops like a joey, a baby kangaroo, to keep up with the other dogs and humans in his life.

On Sunday, Joey will play in Animal Planet’s 19th annual Puppy Bowl to try to win the Lombarky Trophy and bring attention to shelter pets in need of homes. The Puppy Bowl will air before Sunday’s other big game, the Super Bowl, and Joey’s Rhode Island parents are planning a Puppy Bowl party, which will have nine dogs and a few humans.

“He’s amazing,” said Cathy Larson. “The minute I saw him I fell in love.”

Adopting ‘a bundle of love’

Last year, Larson and her wife, Laurie Thibodeau, adopted Joey through Vintage Pet Rescue in Foster. The Tiverton couple added Joey to their family of five other dogs, most of them rescues, figuring Joey would be a good pal to Murphy, a three-legged dog.

“We weren’t wrong,” Larson said. “They’re great together.”

Also, pals at his Tiverton home with a 14-year-old blind dog named Shady, Joey seems to have a gift for making friends, both canine and human. He has a Facebook page, The Adventures of Joey and Friends, and Larson often finds herself retrieving voicemails intended for Joey. She jokes that he needs his agent.

“He’s just a bundle of love, a bundle of joy,” Larson said.

On Christmas Day 2021, Joey was born in a litter to a couple in Connecticut. Able to find homes for the other dogs, the couple could not find anyone who wanted Joey. They turned to the Connecticut Humane Society, which contacted Vintage Pet Rescue.

Vintage Pet Rescue specialized in older dogs and had never had a dog like Joey, but Kristen Peralta and her husband, Marc, who run the rescue, decided to take the pup and picked him up last March. Their “only hesitation came from him being a puppy,” Kristen Peralta said. “He was a little guy, probably six pounds.”

Vintage took in 255 dogs last year and adopted out 200 of them. As a result, they generally have dozens of dogs in their care. “He fit in so wonderfully,” Peralta said. “He’s a completely healthy, happy pup with no real medical issues, other than he was born with no front legs.”

While Joey can stand on his strong hind legs, hop around and play on the floor with the other dogs, the Peraltas, who gave Joey his new name, had him fitted for a wheelchair to help with his mobility. It’s helpful, but Larson says “he’s not a fan” of the device.

“For the most part, he just wants to be a regular dog and romp around with” the other dogs, Larson said.

Joey romps with 121 other pups from 67 shelters for Sunday’s Puppy Bowl and rescues across 34 states. Eleven of the puppies have special needs.

The Puppy Bowl was actually filmed in October. Larson and Peralta accompanied Joey to New York for the multi-day event, but Larson says she has yet to learn how it will turn out. Like millions of others, she and Thibodeau will have to tune in on Sunday to find out.

Part of Sunday’s show will include a DNA reveal for Joey. Larson is still determining how that will go. She thinks Joey’s bloodlines could include rat terrier, Jack Russell terrier, and chihuahua.

“Whatever he is, he’s perfect,” she said.

For Sunday’s Puppy Bowl party, Larson and Thibodeau will be joined by friends and their three dogs. But, of course, Joey and his five canine housemates will be part of the party. Of the couple’s six dogs, four are rescues, according to Larson, who encourages people to consider adopting rescue dogs.

“These dogs are amazing. They just want love,” Larson said. “Just because these dogs are a little different or have special needs doesn’t mean we should toss them aside.”