An animal rescue in Austin, Texas, is a very special place.
This sanctuary takes in animals that have special needs or who are survivors of neglect/abuse.
So, when a child like Harper Wulms who has a congenital hand abnormality visits the farms and meets a rescued turkey like Priscilla who has a “lucky claw,” it can create a healing effect.
“There is something absolutely magical about watching a child with differences come out here and say, ‘They’re just like me,’ ” the sanctuary’s founder Jaime Wallace-Griner told The Washington Post. “When you see Harper holding Priscilla’s lucky hand with her own lucky hand, it just does so much for her heart.”
There are more than 150 animals on Wallace-Griner’s farm.
Animals that would have otherwise been euthanized or neglected.
“We have animals that are blind or deaf, have diabetes, cerebral palsy, deformities, missing limbs, broken spines … they all become part of our family,” Wallace-Griner said.
One of the animals you may meet at the sanctuary is a Great Pyrenees puppy named Halo.
Halo was abandoned in a box by a breeder after the breeder decided she couldn’t be used. Thankfully, Halo was rescued by Wallace-Griner and given the proper care.
Halo ended up having to have her back leg amputated and her front two reconstructed.
But according to Wallace-Griner, she never seemed to be aware that she was different than the other dogs.
She’s always been a sweet girl with a happy demeanor.
In the past Halo has gotten around by hopping, but she recently received a pair of prosthetic legs OrthoPets.
Her reaction to trying out her new legs for the first time was the sweetest thing!
“I have no words. I can’t believe it,” Wallace-Griner wrote on Facebook.
Wallace-Griner said she had just planned to let Halo try them on today.
She didn’t plan on having her walk with them. Let alone start running with them!
Wallace-Griner gently placed them on Halo so that she would feel safe. But once she got her legs on, Halo wanted to stand with them.
Halo sat with them for a bit and got comfortable.
Then she stood up nice and tall all on her own.
When Wallace-Griner brought out a carpet, Halo immediately took a step onto it with her brand-new legs.
Wallace-Griner was squealing with glee. A man came to the gate at the farm who Halo must have been very fond of and she walked right over to him.
It wasn’t long before Halo was running around the yard with some of the other dogs.
And Wallace-Griner was in tears of joy!
“With a big giant pride-filled smile, while I wept (The blubbering starts 5:15),” Wallace-Griner wrote on Facebook.
“It’s been an insane rollercoaster of challenges and emotions over the last year. From the moment I brought this little wounded, 4-week-old, one-legged fluff ball home, I knew she was something special! Look what we did guys. Just look at our Halo go!”
It’s so wonderful to see Halo happily running and playing. What a sweet girl.
Check out the video of Halo running below!
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