When a dog gives birth, they normally have 6-8 puppies in the litter.
Simply considering a number of young animals born to an animal all at once or, in other words, multiple births from an animal. There will always be the “Weakest Link”!
A Runt that is used to depict the smallest or the weakest of all the siblings in the litter.

That Runt will be needing a lot of extra special care and attention to ensure that they can feed enough and are not left out by the other bigger puppies. The Runt have a lot of disadvantages.
Everyone seems to warn everybody against picking the runt of the litter…. saying that the puppy will be sickly, have personality flaws and behavior problems.
They are often left out in the cold.

My Son (Lorenzo) is a runt in the litter. His sibling and older brother (Luigi) was born normal, weighing in at 8 lbs at the time of his birth, and grew up intelligent, athletic, and was loved by many.

Lorenzo, on the other hand, was born just above 5 lbs. He has a physical deformities. He only has 4 fingers on his left hand, a disproportional left ear, and malformed toes.
We, as parents, can afford to live with that and shrug off the negativity. But the thing that struck us the most is Lorenzo’s Autism. That really hit us to the ground!

Still, we took this not as a Problem but rather as a Challenge. Lorenzo is turning 13 years old this May 28 and in someway he has improved in lot of ways. Those challenging years of bringing our Autistic son to different kinds of therapy doctors from Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and SPED Doctors.
It cost us an arm and leg but it is definitely worth it. Especially knowing that Lorenzo has matured and someway catching up with his older brother. Lorenzo is a bit slow developing, but we are amazed with his progress. In due time and patience, we will see a young and mature Lorenzo…. ready to tackle the world.

But why is that Lorenzo is not loved by the people compared to his brother? Is it because Lorenzo acts differently? Somehow I am feeling that Lorenzo is “The Runt of the Litter” to the opinions, assessment, and impression of the other people. Like Lorenzo doesn’t belong!
I would understand if this came from strangers but I am getting the same reaction from some of my family members and relatives.

I guess We have to accept the fact that this is the society that we live in. It’s a Jungle out there and only the best of the best will live. All the runts, the outcasts, the hobos, the bums, the ugly and hideous will get step on by the Great and Pretty Ones.
Just look at your Facebook and you will get the picture. Who will get the most Facebook Likes…. the Handsome Hunk riding on a Ducati SuperSport or a Thin Boy lying on bed suffering from Cerebral Palsy?
How about a Sexy Young Lady displaying her newly bought Bikini in Miniloc Island Resort or the Not So attractive Teenage Girl celebrating her birthday in Jollibee?
Did you get my point? It’s “Survival of the Fittest” out there.

In all honesty, I don’t give a damn about what people think. What I care about is my Runt in here. I believe in stories like the “Ugly Duckling” and “Jon Snow’s Direwolf”. I believe that the future looks bright for my Runt. Lorenzo has his parents, brother, some family members, friends to support & guide him.
We are all confident that Lorenzo will grow up to be a fine, young, and independent man.

If it doesn’t turn out that way, and everything goes south… that is all fine by me.
Lorenzo will still be the most “Prettiest Runt in the World” for me!