When breeder Karen Riddle discovered that one of her German Shepherd puppies was born without a paw, she was faced with a dilemma.
She really didn’t want to put him down, even when other breeders advised her to. So she contacted Shriners Hospital for Children to see if they could find a friend for “Lt. Dan” — named after a character who had amputated legs in the movie Forrest Gump.
This turned out to be a great idea, because they had just the right match for him: a very special little girl by the name of Sapphyre Johnson.
The three-year-old was born with a congenital condition that resulted in the amputation of both her feet. She has been a patient at the hospital since she was three months old.
“They don’t know what caused it. But she had just two really long toes on each foot. And when she was one, we had them amputated so she could be fitted for prosthetics,” said Ashley Johnson, Sapphyre’s mother.
Shriners’ Child Life Specialist Elaine Hardin worked tirelessly to bring the two together.
“The first time I showed her [Sapphyre] a picture of the dog, she looked at it for a moment, and she said, ‘That’s my puppy. He’s just like me’,” she said.
And it seems the instant connection went both ways, as well.
“We said, ‘Sapphyre show him your feet’ and, oh boy, she threw off her prosthetics and her socks and said, ‘Look!’ Then Lt. Dan put his paw up at the exact same time,” Riddle said.
Riddle hopes that Lt. Dan will be able to motivate Sapphyre to move and help her exercise, as well as give her someone to talk to. Not only that, the puppy will also help her better explain her disability to other children, and even help her make friends.
“In the future, I could see Sapphy at her first show-and-tell in school and she could bring in her dog and explain about her dog and herself,” Hardin said.
“Everybody loves dogs and they’ll want to know about her dog that’s special like her.”
Since Sapphyre and Lt. Dan went home on Monday, they have been showing everyone what a great pair they make.
“He follows her, every step she takes, everywhere she goes,” said Sapphyre’s mom. “It’s like they’ve known each other forever.”
Shriners Hospital has since offered to make Lt. Dan a prosthetic foot of his own when he’s big enough.
Friends for life <3
