'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
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.