Dalmatian Dog With Dwarfism Shocks Internet: 'I Want One'

A dog with a rare genetic condition that means he never grew to his full size is melting hearts online.

In a video on TikTok with over 10 million views, Dino the 6-year-old Dalmatian has caught the eye thanks to his short stature.

Dino lives with owners Christine and Danyelle in Hamburg, Germany. He has chondrodysplasia, an abnormality that appears on x-rays as spots near the ends of bones and in cartilage.

Characterized by dwarfism and abnormal body proportions, it means that this Dalmatian is a lot smaller than the usual size for the breed.

"We realized at around 4 months that something was special about Dino," owner Christine told Newsweek: "He didn't grow to the normal size of a Dalmatian like we thought he would. It wasn't until this year through genetic testing we found out that he in fact has chondrodysplasia."

Online, TikTok users were quick to suggest that Dino was actually a cross-breed: "That's a Dalmatian and dachshund mix for sure," said one reply, while another viewer agreed and said: "It looks like a dalmatian dachshund mix."

But Dino is a purebred Dalmatian and his dwarfism doesn't slow him down. "He is not impacted by his dwarfism," said Christine. "He gets vitamins and supplements for his joints. His only problem is that he can't see the food on the table like a taller Dalmatian would."

Chondrodysplasia in dogs is inherited as an autosomal-recessive condition. This means that the dog must inherit copies of the abnormal gene from both the mother and father. Dogs with just one copy of the gene will have no signs of the disease, but may pass the gene on to offspring.

Dino and his canine sister Ruby have over 250,000 followers on TikTok, where their owners share frequent updates of the duo's antics.

"Originally Dino and Ruby's TikTok page was my own personal account. During the COVID-19 lockdown my job was closed for two months and I started to make videos of the dogs," said Christine. "A video of Dino went viral and then I soon realized the dogs get much more views than I would! That's when I changed the account to Dino and Ruby's and the rest is history."

Fans of the videos often share their reactions in the comments. Replying to one video of Dino a TikToker wrote: "Omg I want one," while another said: "So precious."

Another viewer gushed "Firetruck dog! He's so cute," and owner Christine joked he was the "perfect size to crawl under the smoke."

With videos of everything from birthday celebrations to the moment Dino received his DNA results, Christine says that they see the TikTok page as the perfect place to keep all of their memories.

"We love that so many people enjoy watching Dino and Ruby. It makes our day when people comment that they can't wait for another video of them to be posted or simply that it makes someone smile. We like to think of their accounts as sort of a memory book and will forever cherish their cute, funny, adventurous and crazy moments," she explained.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.