'She's everything we wanted': B.C. mom brings home unique puppy for toddler born without hands
The time has finally come for a family in Chilliwack, B.C., to bring home their new pet – a puppy born without a paw, meant to be a special companion for a little girl born without hands.
Bright eyed and excited, Ivy and Elena opened the carrier door and came face-to-face with their new best friend, Lucky.
“She’s everything we wanted in a puppy. She’s very sweet and snuggly but she also loves to play,” said Vanessa McLeod.
Like two-year-old Ivy, Lucky was also born with a limb difference.
"Just the paw portion didn’t form,” said McLeod.
Her difference is what makes her the perfect pick to complete the McLeod family.
“It was just really important for me to have a little companion for Ivy that was also different so that she would always know that being different is OK,” said McLeod.
The 10-week-old puppy was named after the Lucky Fin Project, a U.S.-based non-profit organization providing support and resources for kids and adults born with limb differences.
“She does have a lucky fin and Ivy has lucky fins so Lucky just seemed like the perfect name for her.” Said McLeod.
The name was a tribute to an organization McLeod said has been her support system.
“They have just created this huge community that we would not have found otherwise,” said McLeod, adding that they plan to visit the community once the U.S. border reopens.
“(Ivy) will have so many friends that were born just like her,” said McLeod.
Being different hasn’t slowed Ivy down. McLeod saod when she sees her sister Elena do something with her hands, she looks at herself for a moment but then just figures out how to do it in her own way.
And missing a paw hasn’t slowed Lucky down either.
“Like Ivy, whatever she wants to do, she will do it just a little differently.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.