Faith was adopted by Jude Stringfellow in January 2003 after her son rescued the four-week-old dog from its mother, who was apparently trying to end the life of the deformed puppy (either actively or through neglect). Faith had fully-developed hind legs, but she had only a single, deformed front leg that was amputated for medical reasons when she was seven months old. Although some veterinarians might advise that a dog with such serious mobility problems be euthanized, the Stringfellows raised Faith and — using a skateboard to acclimate her to movement and peanut butter as an incentive — taught her to hop, and she eventually learned to walk upright on two legs.
Faith has appeared on several popular television programs such as “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “The Montel Williams Show,” and “Ripleys Believe it or Not,” and her story has been featured in the books “With a Little Faith” and “Faith Alone: Stories of an Amazing Dog.” She made the national news briefly in February 2007 when she was “lost” for several hours after an airline inadvertently placed her on the wrong flight to Orlando.
Faith never fails to bring a smile to a soldier’s face, said Patrick Mcghee, general manager at Fort Lewis.
Born without front legs to a junkyard dog around Christmas 2002, Faith the puppy was rejected and abused by her mother. She was rescued by Reuben Stringfellow, now an Army E-4 specialist, who had been asked to bury other puppies in the litter.
So Reuben turned Faith over to his mother, English professor Jude Stringfellow. At first the family had to carry Faith to keep her off her chest and chin. But with peanut butter and practice, Faith learned to walk on her two hind legs.
“She was in her wheelchair and saw us. She was crying. She had seen Faith on television. She just held her and said she wished she had that kind of courage.” Stringfellow said. “She told us: ‘I was on my way to pick up the gun.’ She handed the pawn ticket to a police officer and said she didn’t need it anymore.”
“Can we fix her? Stringfellow, then 17, asked his mom. “No, but maybe we can help her,” she said.Advertisement
Update: Shortly after Christmas, Jude was contacted by a pet rescue organization that had received a litter of pups—including one little guy with only two legs. Tanker, as he is now named, came to live with Jude and her family. Jude plans to love him, hug him, squeeze him, train him, spoil him, and put him in the same category as Faith—a natural dog with a purpose. Like Faith, Tanker will travel around the world making soldiers (and others) smile, teaching that if a dog can do it, you can do it, too.
Jude Stringfellow’s first glimpse of Faith was as a squirming ball of something under her son Reuben’s jersey. Reuben had gone to help a friend bury a litter of puppies that had died nearby in their Oklahoma City neighbourhood, but it turned out that one pup was still alive. The boy couldn’t turn his back on what he saw: a puppy with two big, pleading eyes, two floppy ears, and only two working legs. One front leg was missing completely and the other was misplaced and deformed, ultimately atrophying and being removed while she was still a pup.
“She walked upright like a human,” she said. Stringfellow called a local TV station and by that evening, the story of Faith’s walking was being disseminated by the Associated Press.
“She kept doing it over again,” said Stringfellow. “Then we watched her hop in the house. She’d hop over shoes and pillows. She’d hop from the floor to the couch.”
Frankie was a young soldier serving in Iraq when he was seriously injured by an improvised explosive device and lost both legs. While recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center back in the USA, Frankie was despondent about his injuries. All he had ever wanted was to be a soldier. Now, with no legs, unable to walk, his dream had died. A general on the base told him that once a soldier, always a soldier, even if you’re not in the field. The words probably meant little at the time.