Meet Stumpy - the young duck in desperate need of a…

Meet Stumpy - the young duck in desperate need of a prosthetic leg after his dropped off

Meet Stumpy - the six-month-old duck who is desperate for a prosthetic leg.

The male duck lost his left leg after getting it entwined in sheep wool. He was rescued in the village of Slaggyford, Northumberland, by a man who took him to 64-year-old Army veteran Tony Johnson.

Tony runs Pennines Animal Rescue with his wife JoJo, 55, from their farm in Carrshield, Northumberland. He treated Stumpy but sadly the blood flow had been cut off in his leg and it dropped off.

Tony is currently keeping the Mallard duck, which he has named Stumpy, in his shed while he nurses him back to health. He said Stumpy's leg has now healed and the infection has cleared up but he is in need of a new leg.

He is searching for somebody who may be able to print a 3D prosthetic leg for Stumpy and someone who can find a way of keeping it attached to his body.

Tony Johnson is desperate to get a new leg made for Stumpy (Newcastle Chronicle)

Tony, who was in the Army for 20 years, said: "His leg was hanging on by a bit of string and it just fell off. So he's got a stump now. I have to keep cleaning it to stop any infection from going up his leg.

"I just thought I would call him Stumpy because he's got a stump. I have got him in the shed at the moment. He can hop around but not as well as I would like him to.

"What I'm trying to do now is get a false leg made, which is turning out to be very difficult at the moment. People say you can probably do it on a 3D printer but the trouble is getting the plans for it."

Tony said Stumpy was found injured around three months ago. He said he was brought to the rescue around four weeks ago but his leg had already gone dead. Tony treated Stumpy with antibiotics and pain relief and a few days later his leg dropped off.

He said: "A duck spends a lot of time on the floor so it's a bit upsetting to see him in the shed all the time. He could do with getting a leg on him so he can go outside."

Tony has been looking after Stumpy for around a month (Newcastle Chronicle)

Tony initially set up the rescue after coming across a baby deer which had lost its mother 2012. He weaned the deer until she could stand on her own four feet and then released her into the wild.

People heard about what Tony had done for the baby deer and started bringing other wildlife to him. Before he knew it, he was looking after a variety of animals and Pennine Animal Rescue was born.

He said: "People started saying 'you have sent the deer off, can I bring you a hedgehog?' We made it a charity and we have got more and more animals."

Tony said he uses his Army pension to fund part of the rescue and they rely heavily on donations. He said it is currently filled with wildlife including ducks, pigeons, chickens, turkeys and owls. They are also looking after baby hedgehogs.

Tony fears it will be a struggle this winter due to the number of animals he is looking after and the cost of electricity during the cost of living crisis. He added: "At the moment I have got five or six hedgehogs. I'm going to have to keep them over winter and keep them fed. With the cost of electricity it's going to be a struggle. It's going to be a hard one this winter."

Tony has been sharing Stumpy's journey on his Facebook page and is asking for donations.

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