Animals with a disability are often met with sympathy, but one man from Tennessee wants to change our attitudes.
Joshua Ferguson, a war veteran who lost his leg in an accident in Iraq, came across an adoption appeal for an adorable three-legged dog and instantly fell in love with the pooch. He knew that they would have a lot in common, so he jumped straight into the adoption process and now he’s sharing his story with us all.
Scooter the three-legged pup had a difficult start to life.
He was found by a Tennessee fisherman near a creek, where he was badly injured. The fisherman saw that poor Scooter needed emergency medical attention and took him straight to the vets, where unfortunately, the decision was made that they would have to amputate one of his legs.
Happily, Scooter went on to make a full recovery and soon adapted to pulling himself along without the need for a fourth leg.
He is now living a blissful life with owner Joshua, who says that he and Scooter understand each other all so well. Speaking about the sympathy that amputees are usually met with, Joshua said:
“Everybody’s happy to see him and then they realize he’s got three legs and then they begin to pity him.” Speaking to these people, he added: “You were happy, you were overjoyed to see him. (So) Don’t pity him.”
“We survived now here we are.”
As a veteran and an amputee, Joshua is likely to have experienced these kinds of reactions for himself, so it’s no wonder that people’s pity toward Scooter hits home for him. The brave veteran was serving in Iraq during the Gulf War when he lost his leg in an attack. Apparently, that’s why when he spotted Scooter’s story on the Humane Society of Dickson County Facebook page, he knew that he had to meet this strong fellow.
Joshua says that he and his pup learn from each other every day.
Joshua has some words of encouragement for anybody who may be struggling. He advises people to always look on the bright side and think about others who may have it worse off than them.
“There’s a silver lining in anything,” he says. “You can find something- and even if you can’t, somebody’s had it worse so just stop complaining.”
These are wise words to live by! We think that Scooter and Joshua share the same positive attitude – despite having three legs, Scooter is as happy as any other dog and doesn’t let his disability get in the way of him living life to the fullest.
Since the adoption process, the pair now spend their days exploring local parks, doing yoga, and playing together. When times get tough and painful memories come up, Joshua says that Scooter reminds him to look toward the future instead of back to the past.
“It makes it easier for me to remember that it’s still a beautiful day,” Joshua concludes.
A video of Scooter’s life with Joshua was shared onto YouTube by Inside Edition, where it racked up 155,000 views and 3.1k likes, making Scooter somewhat of an internet celebrity. The pair are such an inspiration and we hope to see more of them in the future! Watch the adorable video below.
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