I was doing an afternoon ride on horseback,
and I see this cage.
And I said, “There’s a dog in that cage.”
As I’m pulling her out of the cage,
I realize that this dog has something wrong with her legs.
So immediately I took pictures of her,
put her on Facebook,
and a lady that I work with, she goes, “Sit tight.
Somebody’s coming to pick up the dog.”
- At GTS Husky Rescue,
we save dogs who have been abandoned.
Usually Malamutes and Huskies.
When we first met Lucky,
she was on her little paws, wagging her tail.
Wanted rubs from everyone she could get.
She’s the happiest little girl in the world.
- Can you speak?
Yeah, that’s a good girl.
- You got zoomies?
Are those the zoomies?
- So in the beginning, we wanted to do surgery
to help her legs be the way they should be.
But after going through and looking at her x-rays,
the doctors didn’t honestly even recommend surgery.
It would have been a very painful process for her.
That’s why we went the prosthetic route.
- Hi sweetie.
Oh, that face.
- When Lucky first put on her prosthetics,
she did not like them.
She was confused,
she didn’t know how to walk in them.
But once she picked it up,
she loves going in them now.
- Good girl.
Good girl, Lucky.
Lucky has had a huge support team behind her.
Corey, the ranch director, took her into foster with his three dogs.
With other dogs, she was a little bit more shy.
But once she kind of got into like a pack with her foster,
she kind of learned how to become a dog.
How to play.
A massage therapist has been volunteering her time once a week,
and, to give Lucky a full hour massage.
Once she was done with all of her rehab,
and she got comfortable in her prosthetics,
walking on them alone,
we found that she was ready to get her forever home.
Lucky has been with us for almost two years now.
And honestly, we haven’t had that many applications for her.
Because it does take a special applicant
to want to adopt a dog that is different.
But we just received an application from a woman named Jessie
that is outstanding.
- I live with one of my best college girlfriends, Chloe.
And with her sweet dog, Stella.
Stella is so playful,
and just a great big ball of energy.
I am a Certified Child Life specialist.
And a nurse at the hospital found out about this really great dog
named Lucky who has limb differences.
And she immediately thought of me because of the kids that I work with.
So I really feel like it was meant to happen.
- Do you want to go meet Lucky?
Do you want to meet Lucky, Stella?
It’s going to be great.
Huh?
- Today is a very special day for everyone at our rescue,
because our special needs dog, Lucky, is getting her forever home.
- Hi! - Hi, I’m Jessie.
Hi!
Hi Lucky!
It’s so nice to meet you.
- Jessie was so great with her.
She was so patient.
- And I just instantly fell in love.
- Yeah!
Yeah, good girl.
There you go. Yum yum yum yum yum.
Yeah?
- Good girl.
- How are you feeling?
- I’m just amazed by Lucky and how resilient she is.
I mean, look at her go.
Nothing’s going to stop her.
- It is really important that Stella
come for the meet and greet with Lucky.
Because if there’s some reason where
we don’t feel like it’s the best fit, and it’s not going to work out,
well, then we don’t send the dogs home with them.
- Good girl, Stella.
Stella was playing with Lucky perfectly.
She was very gentle.
It worked out amazing.
(Laughter)
- I can’t wait to take Lucky to her forever home.
Lucky is only able to take a few steps at a time.
So as we’re going through the new house,
I want to make sure that we’re exploring at her pace.
- Hi Lucky.
Awesome job!
Good job, Lucky!
Lucky, what is that?
Huh?
- You got all those toys?
Wow, look at all those.
Yeah!
Yeah, you’re a happy girl? - Good job, Lucky!
- You’re a good girl, Lucky.
- You like the rope toys.
I’m learning so much about you.
- You getting a massage, Lucky?
- Welcome home, girl.
(Laughter)
- It’s really sweet watching Stella help introduce Lucky to the home.
Stella likes to stay by her side
as Lucky is exploring.
I think Stella is showing Lucky that this is a safe space to be in.
It’s been almost two weeks
since Lucky has come home to her forever home.
And I could not be more impressed with her.
- The right one this time.
- Come on, Lucky. Let’s go!
Time to go.
- Let’s go, girl. Let’s go for a walk.
- I’m so thankful for all of the work,
and all of the support the rescue has given her.
- My hopes for Lucky were to become a therapy dog too.
And that’s with children that have limb differences.
And I think Lucky would be an amazing companion for a lot of those kids.
- It’s absolutely incredible that Lucky
can help children overcome the same disabilities she has overcome.
- Lucky is so excited to be a part of the family,
and we couldn’t be more excited to have her here with us.
- Good job, sweet girl.