Angel was born on September 13, 2009. The rest of her litter
mates were perfectly formed. Angel, though extremely healthy in every other
way, only had 3 legs. There was no deformed or injured leg, it just wasn’t
there. According to her owners, the Stallards, there was just a skin flap where
her left front leg should have been.
“The breeder even researched it, and couldn’t find any
instances where the dogs didn’t have to have any surgery to repair anything.”
Jack Stallard said as he sat in the yard rubbing Angel’s head. Angel never had
to have any kind of surgery. Her front chest looks perfectly fine, except the
leg is just not there.
Luckily for Angel, the breeder had planned to keep her,
assuming no one would want the 3- legged boxer puppy. This is not the case with
some breeders that end up with a pet that is less than perfect. The Stallards
saw her and thought she was perfect, and so Angel came to live with them and
their Jack Russell Terrier when she was 8 weeks old.
Teaching Angel to Cope with 3 Legs
“We never treated her like she had a problem.” Linda
Stallard said. “We didn’t carry her around. We helped her figure out how to do
it herself.” They taught Angel to go up and down stairs by supporting her from
the rear and encouraging her to try it. Angel soon learned to go up and down
the front porch steps all by herself.
They did have to make a few adjustments to help Angel be as
independent as Jack, the terrier. They put doggie steps beside the couch so
Angel didn’t have to try to jump up on it to lay down with her buddy. If she
wanted up, she had to climb.
The Stallards say they think Angel realized she was
different than her playmate Jack. “She would look at him real quizzically, like
she was trying to figure out why he had that extra leg.” Jack said.
By watching the Jack Russell terrier run and play, Angel
learned how to hop and jump to keep up with him.
Watching the 2 dogs run and
play in the yard, you would never know that Angel has a disability. You can’t
really even call it a disability, because it doesn’t seem to affect Angel at
all. She runs and plays as fast and hard as her 4- legged friend.
Disabled Pets Can Adapt
The point is that disabled pets are not throw-aways. Angel
is happy and healthy. She doesn’t realize she is “deformed.” If you ever saw this
beautiful dog, and watched her running and playing, you would forget that she
only has 3 legs. Because of the kindness of a breeder, and the love of the
Stallards, Angel has a great life.
With a little help and a lot of love and kindness, a
disabled pet can give you as much joy and pleasure as a “normal” pet. Many pets
are destroyed because they are not perfect. One look at Angel, and anyone would
know how wrong that way of thinking is. Someone will want to love and help that
pet, if given the chance. Angel doesn’t know she only has 3 legs and her owners
don’t care that she has a leg missing. She is perfect to them.
This article and photo was originally published by this
author on Yahoo Voices in 2011 and on Examiner in 2014. Both sites are now shut down but the story of
this beautiful dog needs to continue. This author holds the rights to this
article and the photo.
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