Three-legged dogs aid robot research

I have written before about how animals fitted for the latest prosthetics are helping to inform science on human prosthetics.  Generally I find the resilience of three legged, two legged, or otherwise special needs dogs to be inspiring.  But three legged dogs helping robot research?! Thats a new one!  But it is true--A team of researchers led by Martin Groß at the University of Jena in Germany are working to understand the mobility adaptations that three-legged dogs make in order to design robots that can overcome an "injury." Dogs can help because they can demonstrate how to compensate differently based on the loss of a front or rear limb.

According to Science Daily's great synopsis of the research, "Adjusting to missing a fore-limb is more difficult for the dog to deal with than for a hind-limb, according to the researchers. If a fore-limb is missing, the remaining limbs must undergo careful adaptation to co-ordinate with each other, a process known as 'gait compensation.' With a hind-leg amputation, the scientists found that the fore-limbs continue to act as they would normally in a four-legged dog, showing little or no compensation strategy. The scientists think the reason for the difference is due to the higher loading of the fore-limbs in comparison to the hind-limbs, because of the distribution of body weight." Very interesting stuff!

Wags to my very special three-legged buddy Spencer, who first sent me a tip on this cool new research.  He missing a fore leg, and is pictured here demonstrating how missing a leg does not mean he ever has to miss out on the fun--especially at the beach!

Prosthetic paw has Sully running again

Sully was sure down on his luck. The Great Pyrenees was walking down the side of the road as best he could missing one of his rear paws. It had been amputated by his previous owner, but it appeared he had been living on his own for a bit, as he was underweight.

A good samaritan came his way and helped Sully link up with the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society right there in Texas. The rescue group immediately sprang into action and got this big guy over to the Texas A&M Vet School. The vets worked with Ortho Pets Inc in Colorado to set Sully up with a custom-fit prosthetic paw! Sully can not only walk again, but even run! Check out the video from KBTX.

Things get even better--While Sully was in the excellent foster care of a veterinary student, he found a forever home! His new family is out in Connecticut....where I bet he will go on to live a great life. What a great story about people from all over the county coming together to help out one dog down on his luck.

While Sully has a home now, Blue, pictured here does not. Contact the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society to learn more about him and other available dogs.

Rolling Dog Ranch

Rolling Dog Ranch is this amazing sanctuary in Blackfoot River Valley of western Montana. It is the one and only animal sanctuary of its kind--they cater to disabled pets. They have 60 animals right now, and 40 of them are blind. The couple that started Rolling Dog Ranch knew that animals with disabilities deserve a second chance too. Steve Smith, the cofounder, puts it this way: "They don't feel sorry for themselves. They don't want you to feel sorry for them. They just want a chance to get on with life and enjoy themselves."

Sarah Ause, the staff photographer at Best Friends Animal Society recently made a visit up there and documented their work. Don't miss the amazing slideshow of her visit here. Be sure to read Sarah's full story that accompanies the slide show to learn more about pet blindness and the amazing hearts of the founders of Rolling Dog Ranch.

You can also read more about Rolling Dog Ranch, and offer your support, by visiting their website.

Keep the faith

Animal Planet's Underdog to Wonderdog program got a call about a dog named Faith who was having trouble finding a home. Faith is a german shepherd/rottie pup that has limited use of her rear legs, but still managed to scoot around. Yet, her severe limitations made her a tough case for adoption, and in many circumstances, she would have been euthanized. This team was not going to give up on this girl. The team was able to get all kinds of help for Faith, including water therapy, where she amazingly learned how to stand on all fours on her own for short periods of time. Faith did a lot of hard work, and took agility classes and now gets along great with the help of a set of wheels, and has a home! Check out the adorable video about Faith on the Animal Planet website. (You have to watch a 30 second ad at the beginning of the video, but it is worth it).

Wags to my friends at HandicappedPets.com for the tip!

Giving our soldiers a little Faith

Faith, the two legged dog is back in the news. Now she is helping out veteran who are amputees. ABC news has the video here, and Faith looks adorable in her custom made fatigues!

Read my original story about Faith here. It is so great to see that she is still out there helping people feel ok about being a little different.

Photo Credit: Kevin Ellis / Associated Press

Rumors raise money for Scooby-Roo

Scooby-Roo was born without his front legs and found in pretty bad condition on the streets of LA. He has been on the mend since some very special people started taking care of him at Fuzzy Rescue in LA.

Scooby-Roo has some high powered fans-Paris and Prince Jackson (yes, Michael Jackson's kids). They have "reportedly" expressed interest in helping raise money for a cart, but the attention alone got the money rolling in from all over the world. No check has arrived from the Jacksons, not even a call to confirm their interest, but the rumors spurred tons of small donations ranging from $2-15.

Scooby-Roo is going to get a custom cart to help him get around, and the folks at Fuzzy Rescue are working hard to screen potential adopters. He doesn't need rich or famous to adopt him, just someone who understands his needs and is willing to accept his generous kissing.

Thumbs up for Pixie

Check out this girl Pixie. She landed herself in a shelter, and her chances weren't so good because she is deaf. Lucky for her, Liz Grewal came along. Liz is a specialist in special needs dogs, especially deaf ones, and decided to foster Pixie. Since coming into her new temporary home, nine week old Pixie has learned ten sign language commands! Liz expects that Pixie could eventually have a vocabulary of 100 signals, and will make an exceptional pet.

Lots of folks are nervous about adopting a deaf dog, but even hearing dogs don't always listen! Deaf dogs can be trained with little extra work...in fact most dogs already respond to your hand signals, it is just that you also have a word to go along with it. Deaf dogs tend to stick right by you so that they can keep tabs on what you are doing, giving them the nickname "velcro dogs." Deaf dogs can make great pets for families, but Liz says they should be supervised around young kids because young children can make sudden and erratic movements that might startle the dog. Read the whole article for more info on deaf dogs.

And remember, "thumbs up" is the hand signal for "good dog"--see how easy this is?

Andre's cross-country support team

Poor Andre got stuck in an animal trap up in Alaska! This guy was so determned to escape from the trap that he chewed of his two trapped paws. But the story has a happy ending! A woman found him on the trail and took him to Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, who helped him heal and regain his strength.

Andre was still struggling to get around though, so Karen McKnaught of Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue connected Andre with OrthoPets in Denver. OrthoPets is fitting Andre with some new prosthetic legs! With the help of the woman that found him, Alaska Dog & Puppy Rescue, OrthoPets, and the Denver Humane Society, Andre is a lucky guy to have all these people trying to make his life better. Here is the original article, and People Magazine has an update in this week's issue, but it is not available online.

Wags to my buddy Charlie for the tip!

Roo learns to walk again

Roo had a rough start on life. She was used as bait in a dogfighting ring and abandoned after she was injured. The good folks at Paws In the City in Dallas, Texas found her with her front legs paralyzed. She has a good foster home right now and they have helped her learn how to walk on her two hind legs. Roo looks like a special pup, with some very special people helping her out!

Wags to the good people at HandicappedPets.com for the tip!

Check out this inspiring video:

What being best buds is all about

Dogs sure know how to help each other out. Bonnie and Clyde are best buds, but their relationship is extra special. Clyde is blind, and very shy and anxious on his own. When Bonnie is with him, he has a lot more confidence and you might not even know he was blind!

They are currently at the Meadowgreen Rescue Centre in England, and looking for a home. The nice people at Meadowgreen will only put them in a home where they can be together--the way it should be.

The picture I have of them isn't great, so Click here for a great video of Bonnie and Clyde from BBC news.

UPDATE: Bonnie and Clyde have been adopted! They were placed together in a country home that has other rescue dogs for them to hang with.

Popeye the Dog

Popeye is an extra special two legged pooch

with an amazing spirit. He has plenty of fun

on his two legs and makes wheelchairs look

fun too! He runs around and plays just like any

other member of the pack. Plus he just seems like

a happy little guy!

Can you believe he doesn't have a forever home? Go

to his website if you are interested in adopting him,

or if you just want to see more pictures and read about

his whole story.

Watch the video (My person told me to warn you that

you might get teary eyed):

UPDATE: Video is loading slowly for some people...if you

are having trouble, try watching it here.

Dare, another very special two legged dog!

I received a huge response when I wrote an earlier story about Faith, the two legged therapy dog. Faith is certainly one of a kind, but there are other dogs like her out there.

Dare is a sheltie who has one front leg and one back leg. Dare can walk, run and even swim on his two legs. He does swim therapy regularly to keep his two legs in shape. In his spare time, Dare is also a therapy dog! He visits amputee clinics, special needs schools, and other folks with disabilities. His person says that he just walks because no one ever told him he can't. That message should help others struggling to overcome their disabilities.

Check out the Dare's whole story here....there are lots of super-cute pictures with this story, so you definitely want to click this link!

Dolly's new life

So many dogs lives start out rough. Dolly was abandoned by the side of the road as a puppy after she was partially paralyzed. She was close to being put down, but a friendly veterinarian decided he would help to save her. They got Dolly connected with a Best Friends chapter in Los Angeles, and with the help of HandicappedPets.com, Dolly found her forever home in Texas with a very generous dog lover that has experience with special needs dogs. Happy ending, right?

It gets better! It turns out Dolly wasn't actually completely paralyzed in her hind legs, as originally thought. After undergoing hip surgery, she can now RUN on her three good legs! She still has to do physical therapy, but life sure has turned around for her, thanks to some very special humans. Read the whole story here.

I have a friend named Charlie who runs on three legs and is happy

as a clam! Plus I think it gets him extra attention and love because he is so special.

Have a little Faith

This dog walks on two leg like a human! I can only jump up on my two legs when I get really excited, but this dog does it all day.

The really special thing about Faith is that she travels around the county to serve as an inspiration for those struggling to overcome adversity.

Before finding my forever home, I was left on the side of the road to fend for myself when I was just a year old. So, I thought I knew about adversity. But a dog learning to live her life happily on two legs, and sharing her spirit with struggling humans, that is inspirational.

Read about Faith's visit to Washington DC (plus video) here. See a slideshow here. Faith's people even have a website for her!