LEBANON - This little pup has been given a second chance at life.

At almost 10 weeks old, Lochte, a Rottweiler puppy with fluffy black and tan fur and big paws, is well on his way to becoming a champion in his fight to overcome Swimmers syndrome, a developmental deformity that was preventing him from walking.

With physical therapy at Crown Veterinary Specialists, as well as homework therapy at his foster home, Lochte, named after U.S. Olympic medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte, is making great strides in getting his splayed legs properly aligned under his body to become a normal puppy after nearly being euthanized by a breeder before being rescued.

And while surgery isn’t needed, the physical therapy and other medical care Lochte, nicknamed Loki by veterinary assistant Zack George who is fostering the dog, will require doesn't come cheap.

A GoFundMe page, "Help Lochte Walk Again," has been established by Outcast Rescue to accept donations for Lochte's care. So far, about $780 of the $3,000 needed has been raised. Donations can also be made through the Outcast Rescue website www.outcastrescue.com

Outcast Rescue is a Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit foster rescue serving Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex counties that is dedicated to advocating, informing and rescuing dogs, particularly pit bulls and Rottweilers in high-kill shelters.

While the twice-weekly physical therapy costs $80 for each session, Lochte will also require follow-up care, including repeat X-rays, blood work, foods, toys, bandages for his legs and coats in the cold weather for after he finishes physical therapy in a water tank, according to Beth Hucke, Outcast Rescue board member. Hucke last year rescued Emerald, a pit bull mix that had been severely injured after being found tied up in Philadelphia by her snout.

"We're constantly doing medical cases and pulling dogs out of the high-kill shelters in Philly and Camden all year long. It's these high-end medical cases that we deal with so donations are a huge part of us being able to do that," said Hucke, whose rescue group is also caring for a Chihuahua with a deformed brain while she is also bottle feeding a litter of puppies at her home.

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Dr. Wendy Ross, owner of Crown Veterinary Specialists, said Swimmer's syndrome, aka flat puppy, is a condition that results from muscles that pull the limbs inward being weak and flattened out in young dogs, making it difficult for them to move, while also flattening out their chest cavity at a time when their bones are very soft.

It's a treatable condition, but the costs can add up because it's a long-term commitment, Ross said.

"The earlier you catch it, the better because you start to strengthen those muscles and correct their posture, so with this particular puppy putting him in hobbles, keeping his legs closer together and walking him in a shoot once he begins walking, he learns to move his legs back and forth instead of outward. Basically, physical therapy plays a huge role," she said.

She said the treatment is also aimed at reshaping the chest cavity, so it is not flat from top to bottom. Getting his legs under him will help relieve the pressure on his chest, according to the GoFundMe page.

Ross said swimmers it's not a condition she sees often, but over the more than 30 years she's been in practice she's seen her share of cases.

"He's a very lucky puppy in that he was rescued at an early age, early enough to be helped. And this is a process that can be reversed and it's just important that he gets the physical therapy that he needs as soon as possible," Ross said.

Good Samaritan to the rescue

Hucke said a Pennsylvania breeder sold a Rottweiler puppy to a woman and when the woman went to pick it from the litter, she also spotted Lochte, who was scheduled to be euthanized because he couldn’t walk. She said the woman didn’t know what was wrong with Lochte but decided to take him as well. Unable to handle his condition, the woman reached out to a shelter in Pennsylvania, who in turn contacted Outcast Rescue knowing the organization rescues special needs dogs.

"I was nervous because when we picked him up, we didn't realize how bad he was," Hucke said.

An initial emergency-room visit with X-rays showed Lochte's chest wall was formed like a sandwich, with his heart pushed to the opposite side of his chest and all his organs squished down. He was having some respiratory issues and pneumonia.

"Day one, he wasn't walking, he was completely flattened out. He had breathing issues. He had pneumonia, he had diarrhea and we got him on antibiotics right away," said George, who begins studies in August at Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to become a veterinarian.

"I took him home and we put these hobbles on him. They are like braces to help him learn how to walk. Without them his shoulders are completely splayed out, so we keep his arms and legs together a little bit closer to force him to have proper gait and proper confirmation and once you start working on that then you can start working on walking," added George, who is also hoping to adopt Lochte and take him to Colorado when he starts school.

"He's doing really well. Within one week of time he's gotten up and walking. He can stand up on them. He runs with my dogs. He runs after a ball now. A week and half ago he couldn't even stand up. They are doing very, very well for him," said George, adding he's talking to the doctors about when the hobbles can be phased out. "He's getting, so strong I think we will be able to take them off soon and walk without them."

Rigorous physical therapy

The progress Lochte has made this far is due to the physical therapy at Crown twice a week and the daily therapy at his foster home.

"Everyone is focused on what the arms and legs are doing, but the belly is the core and the part that really dictates how he going to hold his arms and legs, said Amy Flannery, physical therapist.

As George sits on a bench with Lochte's front paws on a small platform, Flannery places the puppy's hind legs on a skateboard-type device to move them under the dog and to the sides to strengthen his stomach muscles. She said, eventually the skateboard device will be moved around in all directions.

"Now he's getting some good motion," said Flannery, who also plans to include devices like a Pilates ball in Lochte's physical therapy.

In a water tank, Flannery's assistant, Tammy Marino, works with Lochte on four, four-minute underwater treadmill sessions. Flannery said the underwater treadmill is like walking in the ocean. With the 85-degree water about mid-thigh high, as Lochte walks with his hobbles to keep his legs from splaying out, he must push the water away and that's how the muscles are strengthened.

She said the higher the water is on his legs, the easier it is to walk. By bringing the water level down, he must work harder.

"We didn't get him until he was 9 weeks old and statistics are 5 to 10 percent he can be helped at that age. He beat the odds," said Flannery, adding Marino is a master at working with Lochte. "He is doing so well we expect him to be able to have a normal life."

"He makes it look easy, but this is really hard work," said Flannery, as George offers treats and words of encouragement to his foster puppy.

"He's a quick learner," George said. "We are all so proud of you."

"I want him to be able to run around without a hobble. I want him to be a normal dog," said George, who also is hoping Loche will be able to go hiking with him in Colorado in the future.

"We will be stretching what's tight, strengthening what's weak and regaining balance and coordination," said Flannery, adding Lochte is expected to finish his physical therapy at Crown in about a month and he will be given exercises to do for the next six months as homework. She said he currently does homework three times a day.

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"If we can save one swimmer puppy, we've done a great job." said Flannery, who had been a human physical therapist for 20 years before she began working with dogs.

Ross said Lochte has made remarkable strides in that he's now walking.

"These kind of things help the staff because we get a case where we can really help and send them home. Compassion fatigue is something very real in veterinary medicine so whenever we get cases like this, a fluffy puppy that we can help, it makes a difference," Ross said.

Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com