A kind person discovered Milly P. Hope on a chilly, rainy, crowded roadway near Lubbock, Texas. Because she was unable to utilize her back legs, Milly was dragging herself along the road in the chilly rain. She had severe wounds and was in danger of freezing to death from shock and hypothermia. She was hurriedly bundled into the car, covered in blankets, and driven to the nearest veterinarian. There, it was discovered that she was only approximately 4 months old, had a severely fractured leg, and had other scratches and bruises on her other legs, likely as a result of being struck by a car.
To help, American Belgian Malinois Rescue (ABMR) was contacted, and they did help! They approved the procedure to pin and repair Milly’s back leg. But it soon became clear that the circulation had been severely compromised, and the limb regrettably had to be amputated.
Soon after, Milly was moved to a foster home for people with special needs in Houston, where she eventually learned to stand up straight again. To lift Milly’s rear end and support her until she regained the strength and balance to walk once more, a customized harness was required.
After learning to walk, Milly moved on to play, run, climb stairs, and fetch the ball. She adored her foster brother, who stayed by her side the entire time, and was kind to her while yet holding her accountable when it came to playing by requiring her to exert extra effort to keep up.
Her foster mother quickly learned that Milly had a very high desire to recover things, so she used this to motivate Milly to play and run so she could grow strong, lean, and muscular. In Colorado, Milly gained experience navigating numerous steps at a time, jumping in and out of moving trucks, and running and playing in the snow. Eventually, Milly would join her foster family.
When COVID struck, Life eventually ended. Milly was no longer able to travel for more training or socialization. So, Milly’s foster mother questioned if a three-legged dog could swim one day since she was bored. I mean, why not? Milly had mastered the ability to comply with all requests. Why not this as well? The journey to teaching Milly to swim in the backyard pool so began.
As long as her foster brother and foster mother were present to support her, Milly had up to this moment been open to trying anything that was presented to her. Milly quickly realized that swimming was so much simpler than walking and running! Within a few days, Milly was jumping off the edge of the pool, and within a month, she was nearly outjumping her foster mother’s pool with her long jumps.
After that, Milly was no longer considered crippled and performed as well as any canine with four legs, if not sometimes even better! Unbelievably many individuals failed to even notice that she was missing her hind leg!
Milly later won multiple titles in advanced dock diving and qualified for the South Central Regionals in dock diving in 2021. This year, Milly was unable to attend the national competition, but hang in there! Milly is getting ready to compete in AKC Scent Work as well as Barn Hunt, Fast Cat, and lure coursing. Milly’s next objective is to compete in agility now that tripod dogs are permitted to do so! Milly adores competing and training because it keeps her in shape and keeps her moving.
Crate training, housebreaking, being good on a leash, and learning several commands and tricks are just a few of Milly’s other skills. She is a devoted mother’s dog that enjoys snuggling on the couch and watching TV in the evenings. She enjoys having her hair dried with a hair dryer, enjoys the snow, and has no reaction to loud noises, vacuum cleaners, or thunder. She despises squirrels and hopes to one day attack one if her mother will allow it.
She considers the two cats she lives with to be a part of her pack. She enjoys chewing on rawhide bones. She is completely dependent on them! She is not aggressive with food or toys, and she adores her mother more than anything else in the world—possibly excluding her dock diving toy. She will retaliate against anyone who approaches too quickly or is a stranger because she is highly protective of her mother.
Milly has adopted the name “Momma Milly” and likes to assist in fostering puppies. Despite never having had puppies of her own, she cares for the little ones like any loving mother would, is patient with them, and teaches them appropriate behavior.
You only need to ask Milly what she feels about something because she likes to chat and won’t hold back! She enjoys playing fetch with her “chuck it” stick until you get tired. She enjoys playing the keep-away game with her foster brother and is fairly swift and agile on three legs. Nothing can frighten Milly since she attacks every circumstance head-on and without hesitation! We may all take inspiration from her love for life.
Oh, and Milly was long ago adopted after winning the heart of her foster mother. The truth is that Milly’s mother wanted a sports dog to compete with and never in a million years thought the dog would eventually become crippled!