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

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) 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'' ...

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 Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), malnutrition, poor nourishment, poor circulatory system, circulation, loss of hormone, ...

. 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 A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

, advised that Faith be

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

. 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'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', ''

The Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from July 8, 1991 to May 16, 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Mo ...

'', ''Animal Attractions Television'' and ''

Ripley's Believe it or Not ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

''. Faith also had a brief mention on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

show ''

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

'' 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

lad mag Lad mag is an informal term used for lifestyle magazines aimed at younger heterosexual men, focusing on "sex, sport, gadgets and grooming tips", particularly in the UK in the 1990s and early 2000s. The lad mag was notable as a new type of magazin ...

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. It is the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwar ...

''. In February 2007,

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

reported that

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

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

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

during a flight back from

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

to Orlando.

References

External links

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

Media coverage

See also

References

External links