Tail Talk

The Post Dispatch ran a story this week about a very special dog that visited the St. Louis area to attend an assembly at Belle Valley North elementary school in Belleville. One of the assembly organizers, Mary
Humphrey, said the children are learning about empathy and raising funds for stray animals. Faith the biped dog was rescued as a puppy when her owner decided she had to be euthanized.  Born without her
right front leg and with her left leg upside down and useless, she was rescued by Reuben Stringfellow. Reuben 22, a private-first class in the Army, is stationed in Alaska.  Stringfellow’s mother — Jude
Stringfellow, 46, of Oklahoma City — took over the care of Faith. She had the dog’s left front leg amputated and used a canine trainer to teach the dog to walk.  Faith now stands at 37 inches tall and was
running around the baggage-claim area at Lambert Wednesday morning. Everyone is dumbfounded when they see her.  And after she runs up to see you she plops down for a belly rub.  What is so amazing about this dog is her effect on people.  And since Reuben is a soldier Faith has a special place in her heart for any (wo)man in uniform.  She was destined to be euthanized but was saved, and now she touches hundreds
of lives all over the country while traveling with Jude on the professional speakers circuit.  You can read her amazing story at her website, www.faiththedog.net  What I found most interesting about the article is reading about a dog, saved from being euthanized, now traveling the professional speakers circuit because she touches the heart of everyone she comes in contact with.  It makes me wonder how many other miracles don’t make the jump to “almost” euthenized.  It doesn’t matter if they qualify for the ugliest dog or the most
beautiful, having one to share our lives with is a lesson in unconditional love, and it goes both ways. If you have the space available, please consider bringing a shelter dog into your home.  If you’re not in a position to bring a shelter pet into your home right now you can still support them by attending the Randolph County Humane Society’s 2nd Annual Wine Event on Saturday May 24th, 2008 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm at Lau-Nae Winery at Rt. 3, Red Bud, IL for a dinner of Pasta, Salad, Bread, and Dessert with music by Out-a-Wack (DJ-Josh Kumke), a K-9 Unit Demonstration, drawing for a Wheelbarrow of Booze, Door Prizes, and a 50/50.  You can even purchase Special Edition Wine labels (must be purchased in advance) so order now as supplies are
limited.  For information contact the Randolph County Humane Society. Tickets are $10 per person and available at the door or purchased in advance at the Randolph Co. Animal Shelter 618-443-3363, Lau-Nae
Winery Red Bud 618-282-9463, Spinach Can Collectibles-Chester, and Doiron’s Jewelry-Red Bud.  Who knew supporting animals could be so much fun?

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm and is filed under Animal Lover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.