A puppy born with three paws has found her forever home with a Minnesota child with a prosthetic leg.
A golden retriever puppy who was born without a right front paw found a new home in the Williams family in Paxton, Minnesota. He was 7 years old and his right leg was amputated three years ago. A three-paw dog has found her permanent home. It has found her home with a young Minnesota man with a prosthetic limb.
According to CBS Minnesota, Marvel, a golden retriever, was the only one in her litter to be born without a front right paw. She was taken in by the Williams family in Waconia, whose 7-year-old son, Paxton Williams, Three years ago, his right leg was amputated. Barb Felt, of Rolling Oaks Goldens, met the Williamses through another client, Paxton's occupational therapist.
Paxton was born prematurely, which resulted in an infection in his right leg, which hindered the limb's growth. Paxton's parents made the agonizing decision three years ago to have the boy's right leg amputated and replaced with a prosthetic limb. Stephanie, Paxton's mother, enjoys how their new pet helps her son accept his physical peculiarities. "It allows him to tell the youngsters, 'Oh, she's missing a paw, she's like me,'" the mother said. "And it's as if it gives him a voice to advocate for himself." Paxton's father, Blaine, has been inspired by witnessing Paxton and Marvel walk together on trails near their home.
"It's as if they realized they were unique," Blaine observed. "The amount of emotions that were going through my head at the time," he went on. "It was absolutely fantastic because I knew she was in the right place at the right time." As she gets older, Marvel may need her own wheelchair or prosthesis. Paxton's family hopes that one day he will be able to run with his prosthetic and that Marvel will be there to run with him.