Hope and Greg Voorhees take a walk at Clearbrook Park in Va.
BUNKER HILL, W.Va. — A five-month-old puppy named Hope is teaching people a thing or two about not letting life knock you down.
Hope was born without fully-formed paws on both her back legs, but now fitted with prosthetics, she is just as quick as ever.
“The right foot is completely missing and the left foot is a partial foot. It is longer but it only has a little bit of a pad, no claws,” said Greg Voorhees, Hope’s foster parent. “But with her prosthetics, she barely has any limits. She doesn’t know she has a disability.”
According to Voorhees, even though Hope wears prosthetics, she is no different than any other pooch.
“I believe everyone has something about them that makes them unique. She’s just beautifully flawed,” Voorhees said.
Hope’s story starts with an organization called Dakota’s Dream Animal Rescue, a 100 percent foster-based rescue in Winchester, Virginia.
“She got into the system because the people who surrendered her. She was just going to be too much work for them,” Voorhees said. “She was the first puppy that her mother ever had, and she was the only puppy. They were concerned because she obviously has some form of a genetic issue.”
Hope’s mother is a full-blooded German Shepherd, and her father is half German Shepherd, half Husky, according to Voorhees. He said Hope was originally bred with the purpose of being used as a tracking dog, like her parents were. But with her disability, that wasn’t going to be possible.
“Her original owners didn’t want to keep her just because she was going to be a lot of work and a lot of time and effort,” Voorhees said. “They even looked into a few different rescues, and all the other rescues told them just to euthanize her. They weren’t trying to be mean, but they knew a lot of money was going to go into Hope.”
Although Voorhees is Hope’s foster parent, financially she is being cared for by Dakota’s Dream Animal Rescue. According to Voorhees, since Hope is still a puppy, she will need several sets of prosthetic limbs. The approximate cost for the prosthetics alone is more than $10,000. The rescue is also paying for all medical bills and training costs.
“Dakota’s Dream is absorbing all the costs, which is why we have been doing all the fundraising and stuff for Hope and the rescue,” Voorhees said.
Voorhees said Dakota’s Dream was founded by a lady named Alicia Aston, on the foundation that “every animal deserves a chance.” He said the word dream is an acronym for “dedication to rehabilitation, education, adopting and matching people to the right animals.”
“This group basically fosters a large number of animals. Dakota’s Dream has actually adopted out over 122 animals this year alone,” Voorhees said.
Voorhees got involved with the organization last year when he adopted a pit bull/boxer mix through the charity last December. After hearing about Hope, representatives from the organization reached out to Voorhees personally about Hope when they were looking for a foster parent. They knew he had a soft spot for shepherds, he said.
“My wife and I decided to volunteer some after that, and then Alicia reached out to me about Hope. I am a police officer and I love shepherds, and I sadly had to have a shepherd euthanized last year,” Voorhees said. “Alicia said, ‘So, do you know anyone who loves shepherds that wouldn’t mind working with a special needs dog?’ And then she sent me a picture and then I was just hook, line and sinker.”
Even though they are costly, the prosthetics are important not only to help Hope walk, but for her overall health, Voorhees said.
“She can be mobile without the prosthetics, but the big thing with shepherds is that they have the tendency to have hip problems, so we needed to make sure that her spine and hips were in line with each other in order to make sure that she lives a long life,” Voorhees said.
Although her initial purpose was to be a tracking dog, Voorhees said Hope’s purpose now will be to help others who can relate to her.
“We took her to an event where there were two disabled people that were brought there to meet her, and one of the men had trouble communicating. He was severely disabled. But when I held Hope up to him you could just see his entire mood change,” Voorhees said. “He was petting her, and he went from this distraught look to this peaceful look, and that’s why she is still here. She was given the name Hope because that is what she is giving back to people.”
Over the next year, Hope will be in rehabilitation and training in order to become a certified therapy dog. She is currently in training twice a week at Head of the Class based in Winchester.
“We are making sure that she is not only getting the best training, but the best care,” Voorhees said.
Voorhees said once Hope completes training she will be used as a therapy dog for other people with disabilities. He said he envisions her working with children who have disabilities, as well as veterans with disabilities.
Since her story was first told, Hope has gained a lot of traction on social media. Voorhees said she is being followed by thousands of people from all around the world.
“She is inspiring people in a lot of ways. Her Facebook page has been crazy. At one point she was getting over 20,000 hits a week on her page,” Voorhees said. “And because her first story was picked up by CNN and Fox, she has been receiving donations and support from people not just from all around the United States, but from all around the world as well.”
Although Hope won’t be available for adoption until she has fully completed her training, Voorhees said he would love to make Hope a permanent part of his family.
“Her and I do a lot of work together. I take care of her everyday. We are pretty much inseparable. So, of course once she is up for adoption, they will consider my application and let me keep her,’ Voorhees said.
One thing that Voorhees said he wants people to take away from Hope’s story is to not judge a book by its cover and that everyone deserves a chance at life.
“I would encourage people to not let a dog’s disability keep them from adopting the dog because I honestly because that every person and every animal has a purpose and they have value,”Voorhees said. “Even though so many people just wanted to write her off because of her cost and the trouble, and even though she is just a baby, I have witnessed her inspire people. Just to walk her around and to see people connect with her because of her disability — it’s amazing.”
Voorhees said Hope has changed his life for the better, and he is looking forward to her continuing to inspire others as she grows older.
“She’s just such an inspiration. She is a little trooper, and she was dealt a bad hand but she doesn’t care. She just picks herself up and goes with it. She is a wonderful dog,” Voorhees said.
Currently, there is a T-shirt fundraising campaign running for Hope through the end of next month.
For more information or to donate, visit Facebook.com/DakotasDreamHope
-Staff writer Katiann Marshall can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 182 or at www.twitter.com/kmarshallJN.
