When you see Faith for the first time, you’re sure to do a double take. Born without front limbs, this amazing five-year-old canine has actually learned to walk and run on her hind legs, inspiring millions around the world with her courage and determination.

Faith’s story began just before Christmas of 2002, when she and her siblings were born in a flea market yard in Oklahoma City. Some of the pups died, and when Jude Stringfellow’s son Reuben and his best friend jumped the fence to rescue those that remained, they found Faith’s mother lying on top of the malformed pup in an attempt to suffocate her. “It was natural thing for her to do under the circumstances, but this little dog made it through the first couple of weeks so obviously she was strong enough to survive, at least for awhile,” says Jude.

Reuben took the puppy home and the family set to work to give their new charge a fighting chance at life. “She was very sickly,” says Jude. “We tried to feed her but she wasn’t suckling correctly, which is probably why her mother was trying to put her down.” Jude took the pup to the vet, and was told that although the prognosis wasn’t good, she could survive with a lot of effort and round-the-clock care.

Jude ended up quitting her job in order to stay home and care for the puppy.“It sounds stupid from a financial point of view, but at the time, it seemed that this dog was what our family needed to bring us together. I felt that if I let her die, then I was essentially saying to the kids that we’re dying too.”

The following months were challenging, but Jude and her children rose to the occasion, taking turns throughout the day and night to watch the puppy, feed her, take her outside, and teach her to sit and walk upright. “The vet said we had to get her up off her chest, so we would sit in a circle and set her up over and over again, and clap and go ‘yay!’ when she made it.”

At the time, the family didn’t have a name for her because they weren’t sure if she’d survive. As she persevered and got stronger, however, they began to toss around some ideas. “My daughter Laura said that if she walks by faith, we should call her Faith.” It seemed an appropriate name in more ways than one. “Faith was the link that brought us together,” says Jude. “She helped us grow together as we helped her.”

It wasn’t long before Faith’s story began to get around. It started with a phone call to the local news station. “We have a lot of military people in and around our area, and they were being sent to Iraq,” explains Jude. “I wanted to give the media a feel-good story instead of all this war. They sent a guy over to do the filming, they ran the story, and the anchor didn’t go home that night because they were getting calls from all over the world.”

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Published in the February/March 2008 issue of Animal Wellness