What My Three-legged Dog Has Taught Me
My three-legged dog always leaves me behind. His lively gaze, his impatience and his unruly joy with no expiration date, has taught me that life will always be fuller and more rewarding if we focus on what we have rather than what we lack. Because the most important thing is the heart and your attitude and it does not matter if you are missing one, two or three legs.
Among all the people who take the noble and needy step of adopting an animal, there are those who choose to give a new opportunity to a dog or cat with a disability. What they bring us in these cases is something so intense as well as enriching, that we want to share with you three wonderful examples that will make you reflect and that will undoubtedly serve as an example. Inspirational .
It is curious to see how in the case of dogs, their survival instinct will cause most of their physical disabilities to be counteracted by their tireless search, play and continuous interaction with their human family. Now, an abandoned dog, an animal with no ties other than its own loneliness, will gradually stop “investing” in its survival, no matter how many legs its body has.
However, the simple fact of feeling part of a group, of a family that offers encouragement, love and trust will shape not only that fourth “leg” that the disabled animal lacks, it will also offer hope to run with more vigor. never.
The three-legged dog that knows how to fly, Maty the champion
We will start by telling you the story of Maty, a three-legged dog from Oregon who holds nothing more and nothing less than two titles. The first for being a champion of “Disco Skyhoundz” (the classic Frisbee that our dogs like so much), the second, for being an ambassador of the “Animal Protection” of her country.
When Maty was just a puppy, she was adopted into a nursing home. It was here that she caught a virus, a staph infection that nearly killed her. The vets had to amputate one of the legs, and although they thought that this would change his life forever, it was not like that.
To promote her rehabilitation, they signed her up for Frisbee courses and tournaments, where to everyone’s surprise… Maty learned to “fly” . Outperformed four-legged adult dogs in jumps and stunts.
Today Maty works in homes for the elderly and in schools, taking part in a program to motivate and set an example to all people with physical or psychological problems, to whom to give support, to whom they can set an example. Wonderful, no question.
The other protagonist of this beautiful story is Owen. He is 7 years old and suffers from a rare degenerative disease called “Jampel Schawartz Syndrome”, an ailment that only 30 people present in the world. This little boy cannot move normally and to this, his shyness and a deep sense of loneliness are added where, until not long ago, he had little desire to play and even laugh.
It was her father’s girlfriend who shaped this miracle, bringing someone very special home. When Owen first saw Haatchi, he was mesmerized. The connection was so fast and intense between the two that it is impossible to see them separated at some point. The three-legged dog has grown up and is the faithful guardian, support and best friend of this child who never stops smiling.
My best friend looks like me
The adventures of Ella and Snowdy have gone around the world. This third story once again has chance as its main component and those threads of destiny that sometimes unite exceptional creatures to create insurmountable bonds.
She is a 21-month-old girl who was born without one of her arms due to “Amniotic Band Syndrome”. One afternoon, her mother was browsing social networks, when she suddenly found an image that had an intense impact on her. It was a puppy, an adorable white dog with one leg missing.
Snowdy had been run over, and since her owners could not cover the clinical expenses or care for her, they chose to leave her in a shelter. Ella’s mother was instantly sensitized to that dog and thought it would be wonderful that her daughter could grow up with that companion by her side.
The union between the girl and Snowdy was also wonderful. So much so, that she has learned incredible tricks from her friend, she hardly sees any limitation when it comes to running, manipulating things and moving. They both grow up together and explore the world with joy and happiness.
