December 22nd, 2010 
Nyomi Graef 
An extraordinary dog called Faith is touching hearts and bringing hope to millions of people across the world. Born in the US around Christmas 2002 with only three legs, Faith was rejected by her mother. Seventeen-year-old Reuben Stringfellow found Faith when she was a couple of weeks old and close to death. Reuben rescued her, bringing her home to live with his family.
Faith was taken to a vet, who recommended that Faith be put to sleep. The vet said that because Faith had only two well formed legs and couldn’t walk, she would rub a hole in her chest when she dragged herself along the ground.
But the Stringfellows had other ideas. They decided to train Faith to walk by herself. The entire family took it in shifts to look after their puppy around the clock. After much love, time, and perseverance, in March 2003 Faith took her first steps, which many vets said was a miracle. She’s one of only a few dogs in the world known to be able to walk solely on two back legs, and lead a happy and healthy life.
Since taking those miraculous steps, Faith has become a star and a hero. She has done the talk show circuit, becoming one of Oprah’s favorite animal guests. She also has her own website, gone on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, and tours hospitals, schools, army bases and other venues across the US and beyond.
Reuben’s mother, Professor Jude Stringfellow, has become a motivational speaker, and written books on Faith. Jude says on Faith’s website that:
“Faith was born for a reason. I believe it was to first heal my family from sorrow and sadness, and this allowed us to help her fulfill another mission — to help as many as possible. So many people write to me and tell me how Faith has touched their lives.”
The West Australian newspaper featured an article on Faith in December 2009. The paper reported the following true story, which shows the profound impact Faith has on people:
“Professor Stringfellow will never forget a woman from New York who saw Faith on a street corner. She was depressed and had lost both legs to diabetes.
“She was in her wheelchair and saw us,” Professor Stringfellow said. “She was crying. She had seen Faith on television. She just held her and said she wished she had that kind of courage. She told us: ‘I was on my way to pick up the gun.’ She handed the pawn ticket to a police officer and said she didn’t need it anymore.””
Jill Salomon of Montreal, Canada, is another person whose life Faith has touched. Jill wrote on Faith’s website that:
“Faith has shown me that different is beautiful, that it is not the body you are in but the soul that you have.”
Watch Faith on Oprah to find out more about Faith’s miraculous story. As Jude says:
“She is a demonstration of what it looks like to persevere – what it feels like to say, ‘I can do what I want to do, nothing can stop me.’”
written by Nyomi Graef
References:
Faith (dog), 2010, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_%28dog%29
Faith walks and offers everyone some paws for thought, 26 Dec 2009, The West Australian, page unknown
Stringfellow, J, 2010, Faith the Dog’s Official Web Site – Faith on Oprah,
http://faiththedog.info/videos/faith-oprah
Stringfellow, J, 2010, Faith the Dog’s Official Web Site – Hope and Love on Two Legs,
http://faiththedog.info/
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