This story was shared within the framework of the Fur Fam Storytelling Contest. Submissions have been accepted through December 5. Voting will take place from December 6 through December 31. The three grand prize winners will receive a $500 prize, plus $2000 cash and supplies for their favorite shelter. View all stories here!
Meet Milly P Hope.
Milly P Hope was found by a good Samaritan on a busy, cold, wet highway in Lubbock, Texas. Milly was dragging herself down the street in the freezing rain, unable to use her hind legs. She was seriously injured and in danger of dying from shock and hypothermia. The little girl was quickly loaded into a car, wrapped in blankets and taken to the local vet, where it was discovered that she was only about 4 months old, with a severe broken leg and multiple cuts and bruises on her other leg. was hit by a car.
American Belgian Malinois Rescue (ABMR) has been contacted for assistance, and they have! They allowed surgery to have Milly’s hind leg clamped and repaired. However, it was clear that the circulatory system had been severely damaged, and sadly the right leg was amputated.
Soon after, Milly was transferred to a medical foster home in Houston, where she would learn to walk on three legs. A special harness was used to support the rear of Milly’s car and help support her while she gained the strength and balance to walk.
Milly learned to walk first, then play, then run, then climb stairs and get the ball. She loves her adoptive brother who has been by her side all this time, being gentle with her and not letting go of her when it’s playtime, leaving her struggling to keep up.
Her adoptive mother soon discovers that Milly has very high traceability, so this is used to encourage Milly to run and play to become strong, lean, and muscular. Milly traveled to Colorado and learned to run and play in the snow, jump in and out of a truck while moving, and negotiate multiple stairs. Milly has become part of her adoptive family!
Then COVID hit. Life has ended. Milly couldn’t go anywhere else for more training and socialization. So one day, Milly’s adoptive mother got bored and wondered if a three-legged dog could swim. Also why not?! Milly learned to do everything she asked. Why not this one?! So the adventure begins teaching Milly to swim in the backyard pool.
Up until this point, Milly had played the game for anything introduced to her as long as her foster brother and adoptive mother were there to cheer her on. It wasn’t long before Milly discovered that swimming was much easier than walking and running! Within a few days, Milly had jumped from the edge of the cliff, and within a month her jump was so long, she barely jumped the length of her adoptive mother’s pool.
Since then, Milly is no longer considered disabled; she did as good as any four-legged dog or even better sometimes! It’s amazing how many people don’t even realize that she’s missing a rear leg!
Milly went on to hit several advanced dock diving titles and qualified to go to the 2021 dive dock in the south central regions. Milly didn’t make it to the national competition this year, but stay tuned! Milly is training in Barn Hunt, Fast Cat, Lure Coursing and is also training to compete in AKC Scent Work. Now, three-legged dogs are allowed to compete in agility, so that’s Milly’s next goal! Milly LOVES competes and trains, which makes her strong, agile and active.
Among Milly’s other talents are crate-trained, home-trained, good at leashes, and knowing many commands and tricks. She is a Velcro dog that loves her mother and will happily snuggle up on the couch and watch TV in the evenings. She doesn’t react to loud noises, vacuum cleaners or thunder, loves being dried with a hair dryer, loves snow, hates squirrels, and has the goal of killing one someday if her mother allows it.
She lives with two cats that she considers part of her pack. She likes to chew on her spine. She is totally addicted to them! She doesn’t like food or toys, and LOVES her mom more than anything in the world except maybe her dock diving toy! She is very protective of her mother and will react to anyone who approaches too quickly or is a stranger.
Milly loves to help raise puppies and has adopted the name Momma Milly. Although she has never raised puppies herself, she is the mother of the children, patient with them and teaching them appropriate behaviors like any good mother.
Milly is a talkative and won’t hesitate to tell you what she thinks about something, all you have to do is ask her! She loves her “chuck it” stick and will happily play find until YOU get tired. She likes to play away from her adoptive brother and is quite agile and agile on three legs. Milly is fearless and tackles any situation without hesitation, nothing can stop her! Her passion for life is a lesson we can all learn from.
Oh, by the way Milly became her adoptive mother’s heart dog and was officially adopted a long time ago. Truth be told, Milly’s mom wanted a sport dog to compete with and never imagined in a hundred years that dog would be a crippled dog!
This story was submitted by Roxanne Sandt, with support from the Belgian Malinois Rescue of America. To see other Fur Fam Story Contest entries, click here!
