The rescue puppy, who is just 15-weeks-old, is only a few inches tall and has to hop on his back legs to get around – so it’s no wonder he’s been named Roo

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This puppy thinks he’s a kangaroo – but that doesn’t mean he’s barking mad.

The tiny Chihuahua’s identity crisis is for a good reason.

After all, the cute dog was born with just his hind legs.

Just a few inches tall, he has to hop on his back legs to get around.

So it’s no wonder the determined pooch has been named Roo.

Put up for adoption at six-weeks-old by a breeder who wasn’t able to find him a home, Roo has amazed rescue workers, climbing stairs, jumping and running around.

Paula Knowles, 48, from Pendle Dogs in Need, Lancs, took him in and at first even she agonised as to whether it would have been kinder to have him put down.

Hopping mad: Roo the dog gets around on his back legs just fine

But after seeing him bound happily around on his back legs she vowed to keep him.

He’s since been taken in by a new owner, Angela, who has given him a happy home.

Paula said: “He is so determined and such a character.

“He doesn’t let his disability hold him back at all. He doesn’t know he’s any different to the other dogs.

“If the door goes, he bounces towards it with the other dogs, on his back legs instead of all four. He thinks he’s a kangaroo, that’s where his name came from.

“He’s been to the vet and been checked over and apart from his legs, there is nothing wrong with him. They can only put it down to a genetic disorder.

“He has little stumps for front legs, but as he can move his shoulders, there is a chance that he could be fitted with prosthetic legs and walk like any other dog.

“We just don’t know where to start in finding someone to help him.”

What Roo looking at? The super-cute Chihuahua refuses to let his disability hold him back

Roo, who weighs one and a half lbs, is so tiny Paula could take him out in her pocket, but he loves to play with other dogs and doesn’t seem fazed by his size.

She said: “Roo loves running around. We took him to the beach and he absolutely loved it, as the sand was soft on his stumps so he could get around quicker.

“Everyone who sees him falls in love with him as he’s such a happy little thing and has so much zest for life.

“Things could have been different for him. I imagine some breeders would have had him put to sleep, but I know each time I look at him that we’ve done the right thing.

“He spends the daytime with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Sebastian, who is a big dog, but who totally loves him and Roo is forever jumping on him.

“He can even climb on the sofa by pulling himself up with his teeth and he’s got up the stairs too. He’s amazing.”

Life’s a beach: The tiny pooch loves running around on the sand

Paula has sent Roo’s story to Noel Fitzpatrick, the Bionic Vet, and has made inquiries in America about getting a set of wheels and a harness for the front of his body.

She is sharing his story in the hope that someone will come forward with a way to help him walk.

“They are available in America but not here, but we’d love something like that for him as I do worry about the strain his back legs are under,” she explained.

“Ideally he would have a harness and a set of wheels under his shoulders that his stumps could fit into.

“There’d be no stopping him then!”