Amputee Dog Placed In Perfect New Santa Clara Home
SANTA CLARA (KPIX 5) -- A stray dog who lost her leg after a car accident was welcomed to a home in the South Bay this past weekend with new owners who are a perfect match.
According to Pittsburg-based rescue group Umbrella of Hope, Minmi is a two-year old Maltese-poodle mix that had been hit by a car, but her injury never healed properly.
In December, they had to amputate her leg.
Last week, KPIX 5 reported that the anonymous donor who paid for her amputation surgery stipulated that she had to be adopted by a human amputee. On Saturday, she found Bob Padilla.
"I'm the new dad. That's my job," said Padilla with a smile.
Padilla lost his leg to diabetes two years ago. Recently he and his wife Bonnie lost their own beloved pet dog as well. For this couple, Minmi's story felt less like news and more like fate.
"Got up that morning, saw the 3-legged dog on the TV," said Bonnie. "I had been waiting for a sign of when we were gonna be ready to adopt again."
"I thought, Well honey, what bigger sign could you get than that? I'm an amputee!" exclaimed Bob.
That sort of sums up Bob. He thinks he has to remind people that he's an amputee mainly because he doesn't really think much about it himself.
"After I lost the leg I didn't look at it as a disability. It was a challenge, a hurdle," he explained. "Once you get over it, you move on. It's not that big of a deal."
In fact, Bob has adapted so well that just 6 months after his amputation, he competed in a swim from Alcatraz.
As for Minmi, the shelter felt her can-do attitude would help someone struggling with the loss of a limb. Instead, it turns out she found a kindred spirit.
"How can you beat this? Look at this face…this is unconditional love!" said Bob.
No one here feels sorry for themselves. Between them, Bob and Minmi have four good legs. And as long as they stick together, that ought to be enough.
