This dog was born on Christmas Eve 2002. He was born with two legs and of course could not walk . Even his mother did not want him.
But then, his present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met him and wanted to take care of him.
She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by himself.
She named him 'Faith'.
In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard to let him feel the movement.
Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and reward for him for standing up and jumping around.
Even the other dog at home encouraged him to walk.
Amazingly, only after 6 months, like a miracle, Faith learned to balance on his hind legs and to jump to move forward.
After further training in the snow, he could now walk like a human being.
Faith loves to walk around now.
No matter where he goes, he attracts people to him.
He is fast becoming famous on the international scene and has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows.
There is now a book entitled 'With a Little Faith' being published about him.
He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
His present owner Jude Stringfellew has given up her teaching post and plans to take him around the world
to preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul'.
In life there are always undesirable things, so in order to feel better you just need to look at life from another direction.
I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day.
Faith is the continual demonstration of the strength and wonder of life.
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I have verified at snopes.com the authenticity of the above story -- that it is not an urban legend. In fact, Faith has his own website.
This is such a heart-warming story that I wanted to share here and make a small request -- that you keep this story circulating to others as a message of hope for those experiencing difficulties in life.
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What an amazing story! I nearly burst into tears reading it. And I don´t know what I really think about this.
ReplyDeleteAm I cruel and cold-hearted when I say, that had it been up to me, I had put the dog to sleep?
The owner did not save her hours with the dog, loves him ( me too ) no doubt, but in the very end - what is this really all about?
Mette, I think your reaction of thinking the dog should be put to sleep is a normal one; most of us would have thought the same. That's because we believe the dog's life would be too difficult for him. As to the owner's objectives, I would like to think it was love for the little dog and not a cause for celebrity.
ReplyDeleteSanda, I believe, that in the very beginning, the love of the dog´s owner was the greatest motivator, and I can accept that.
ReplyDeleteThe celebrity thing it led up to, is the thing, that I bugs me.
Yet another point, which is the most important: Forcing an animal with 4 feet to walk with just 2, isn´t it cruel in fact? Placing all the weight on just two legs..
ReplyDeleteI think its a beautiful story. I never even thought about it not being fair to the dog - I only thought about saving his life and him being a happy little creature enjoying life. As for the owner, I believe to put as much effort into helping him as she did, it was for the dogs benefit and not to to become a celebrity (my opinion).
ReplyDelete