'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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.