Triton was brought to a public shelter without any litter mates or mother when he was 4 weeks old.  He was placed with a foster mother that had two pups his age, and, luckily, she accepted him. I volunteer at a shelter that takes in animals from shelters that are about to be euthanized, and our shelter rescued Triton and his foster mom and siblings.  We had no idea he was a purebred German Shepherd until he got old enough that his markings started to show.  He was born with a malformed left front limb.  His radius and ulna did not fuse.  He had his surgery at the shelter on March 12.  They left part of his humerus to protect his body wall .  I took Triton home that day.  He loves my two other dogs and is working through all of the growing pains of being a large breed without a front leg.  He loves kids and loves the dog park.  I am hopeful that he can become a therapy dog.  He is an inspiration to everyone he meets and is 8 months old now.