Brutus the dog walks on four prosthetic legs and wins all of our hearts
We’ve got the cutest and most heartwarming story for you guys this morning. But truly, get ready for some Friday feels. Brutus the dog is a 2-year-old Rottweiler who just got a second chance at happiness. And we totally, totally love him.
As a puppy in Colorado, Brutus’ breeder left him outside in the cold, which caused horrible frostbite on his paws. (First tissue.) The breeder then tried to do an at-home amputation of Brutus’ damaged paws, which we cannot even believe. (Second tissue.) Fortunately, Brutus was taken to the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where they did what they could to help the poor puppy. But even after undergoing surgery, Brutus was without paws and had extensive damage to his legs. (Third tissue.) A normal life of running and playing seemed out of the question for the still-young pup. (Fourth tissue.)
Until a woman named Laura Aquilina met Brutus and decided he deserved so much better. She fostered him and then adopted him, and promptly started a crowdfunding campaign to get Brutus prosthetic legs and physical therapy. Aquilina set up “Better Paws for Brutus,” which is also the name of his Instagram account FYI, and raised enough money to provide Brutus with four new legs. (ALL OF THE TISSUES.)
Now working with a group called Orthopets, Brutus is learning to really maneuver on his new appendages and will eventually be able to run and play to his hearts content.
Brutus is the second dog ever that Orthopets created four prosthetic legs for. The first dog to receive the treatment was a little guy named Naki’o. Orthopets founder Martin Kaufman told NBC News how Naki’o’s experience is now helping Brutus: “We learned a lot from Naki’o’s story and were able to apply that knowledge to Brutus’ case.”
“He’s learning how to move with them on. Once he’s mastered that, we will help him achieve higher-level functioning activities, like hiking and playing with other dogs,” said Sasha Foster, a canine rehabilitation specialist at Colorado State University.
Brutus now loves to be outside and we’re so happy that he’s happy.
We could watch him getting the hang of his new legs all day, and we cannot wait to see how well he does once he’s gotten used to them!
You can follow Brutus and his recovery on his Instagram. We’ll be there.
(Images via)
