Faith (December 22, 2002 - September 22, 2014) was a

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...

dog, born with three legs; two fully developed hind legs and a deformed front leg, which was amputated when she was seven months old after it began to atrophy. Her owner, Jude Stringfellow, adopted Faith when the mother dog was found trying to smother the deformed puppy—her son rescued the puppy and brought her home. Many people, including veterinarians, advised that Faith be

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

. Instead, using a spoon with peanut butter as an incentive, Jude taught Faith to hop. Faith began to walk on her own. The family's corgi would bark at Faith from another room, or nip her heels to urge her to walk. Faith was given a non-commission rank of E5 Sgt. at Ft. Lewis, Washington in June 2006. She visited more than 2,300 wounded warriors in hospitals and wards throughout the world, and was seen by more than 2,000,000 active soldiers at bases, airports, and ceremonies. She wore an ACU jacket and would get excited when it was pulled out of the closet, as she knew it meant she was about to meet soldiers. Her death was announced on September 22, 2014.

Media coverage

A book has been published detailing Faith's story entitled "Faith Walks...A Memoir of a Beautiful Life". Faith and her owner, Jude Stringfellow, have also been featured on '' Maury'', ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', '' The Montel Williams Show'', ''Animal Attractions Television'' and '' Ripley's Believe it or Not''. Faith also had a brief mention on the PBS show ''

NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

'' in the episode The Family That Walks On All Fours. A short article on Faith that appeared in the "racy"

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

lad mag Bizarre in 2004 was allegedly the cause of owner Stringfellow's dismissal from her culinary college teaching job. The dog was also rumoured to have been considered for an appearance in ''

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts ...

''. In February 2007,

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

reported that

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

had accidentally sent Faith to a different destination than her owner, after changing planes in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

during a flight back from

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

to Orlando.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faith (Dog) Animal amputees Individual dogs 2002 animal births 2014 animal deaths Individual animals in the United States

Media coverage

See also

References

External links