INDIANAPOLIS— An Indianapolis golden retriever born with only three legs is being given the chance to walk on all fours for the first time in her life.
Sunny has all the energy of a female puppy but instead of running, the canine has a little hop.
“She can run a little bit with them,” said Sunny’s owner, Kellie Weeks. “But she’s frequently falling and tumbling.”
As if having just three legs was not hard enough, one of her tumbles took a turn for the worse.
“She is very unstable,” Weeks said. “She fell on her face and had an eye injury. So at 9-weeks-old, she had to have eye surgery. The eye doctor said she probably won’t have any vision in that eye.”
Continuing to live with poor balance could lead to even more problems.
“Her good limb is already showing some signs of wear and tear, and spinal issues can happen,” Weeks said. “She’s kind of out of alignment a little bit.”
Weeks had raised $1,000 through GoFundMe website and had some smaller donations through the nonprofit Joey’s PAW website, but an anonymous donor who heard about Sunny helped meet the goal for a prosthetic leg. The donor provided the remaining $1,000 Sunny needed.
“I think she’s excited,” Weeks said about the prosthetic leg. “But, it’s going to be good. It’s going to be a learning experience for both of us. It will take a little bit of a long road. She’ll have to get fitted and multiple fittings as she grows. She’ll have to learn how to use it. So all of those things are exciting and I’m looking forward to taking that journey with her.”
Sunny is getting fitted next week for her prosthetic leg.
Weeks hopes, after getting a new leg, Sunday can be a therapy dog kids who have prosthetics.
“Seeing a dog who — everyone loves puppies and dogs — that is also going through that, I feel like would help them maybe cope a little bit better,” Weeks said.
Weeks also hopes more donors step up to help other dogs.
“There are lots of dogs like Sunny on there (the websites) that need your help,” Weeks said. “She got hers funded, but there are others that also need it. And we just thank you.”
(photo courtesy Joey’s PAW)