The puppy was just weeks old, missing his two front legs and found abandoned with his siblings in a box along a Central Florida road.
To Jude Stringfellow, hundreds of miles away in Oklahoma, it was a sign from God.
“God sends some people to Africa, and some people he gives two-legged dogs to,” she said. “I’m obviously that one person.”
Next month, she will adopt the puppy, Tanker, and bring him home to meet Faith, Stringfellow’s Chinese chow chow, who also was born with two legs. Faith, now 6 years old, has dazzled and inspired people around the world with her ability to walk upright.
It’s too soon to say whether Tanker, now about the size of a guinea pig and with a white stripe down the middle of his face, will also be able to walk upright — it depends on his breed, which is still unknown, and how big he gets. Stringfellow might equip him with wheels instead. Either way, she already has plans for him.
Tanker will play the puppy version of Faith in a movie Stringfellow is working on about her dog. It will be a fictional story about a soldier who loses his legs in Iraq and finds the will to live when he meets Faith. Director and writer Ken Farmer said he will use makeup to lighten Tanker’s fur so he better resembles Faith. Farmer is an independent filmmaker and said he hopes his movie, called Faith, becomes a sleeper hit.
As for Tanker, he has no idea that he’s any different from his littermates.
“Right now, he’s just a puppy,” said Judy Walker, a volunteer at Pet Rescue by Judy in Sanford, who has been caring for Tanker. Judy Sarullo, the shelter’s founder, met Stringfellow and Faith at a convention. When she saw little Tanker, she immediately thought of them.
For now, Tanker wriggles around, powering himself forward with his hind legs and clumsily moving the little nubs where his front legs should be. He’s under Walker’s constant care, even accompanying her to square-dancing class.
Stringfellow said she’s certain that Faith and Tanker will get along well. The former English professor left her job when Faith came into her life about five years ago.
With a spoonful of peanut butter and a lot of determination, she taught Faith to walk.
The dog is somewhat awkward, but she has captured hearts wherever she has gone. She has walked across the stage on The Oprah Winfrey Show and other TV programs.
She and Stringfellow visited so many injured soldiers that the pooch was given an honorary commission as a sergeant in the Army.
“There are times when the doctors will call me and say, ‘Listen we’ve got a soldier here who hasn’t spoken in four weeks. Can you bring the dog up?’ ” Stringfellow said. “It won’t take 30, 40 minutes before he’s loosened up a bit.”
They go on motivational tours across the country. Stringfellow has written books about Faith. When Stringfellow was teaching part time she liked to tell her students, “If I can make a dog walk upright, your homework will be turned on time.”
Faith was born at Christmastime, just like Tanker. Stringfellow named Tanker in honor of her son, who is serving in Iraq. In the movie, in addition to playing the puppy Faith, Tanker also might play himself.
At the movie’s end, Stringfellow envisions Faith turning to the puppy and saying, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
SOURCE: ORLANDO SENTINEL
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