Do you remember Rosie? In 2015 iHeartDogs shared the story of a little Great Dane pup who lost her leg. Her mother stepped on it and broke it, and the cast she was required to wear cut circulation off to the limb. Without a leg, her breeder wanted to euthanize her since she could no longer be sold, but Big Hearts Dog Rescue saved her and paid to give her the surgery she would need to live.
When we first told you about Rosie, she was 10 weeks old, and living with a foster family.
Big Hearts Dog Rescue reached out to Hanger Clinic in Clearwater, Florida, which created the prosthetic tail for Winter, the dolphin. They fit Rosie with a new prothetic leg, and she was learning to walk on it.
But as we know, Great Danes grow! And Rosie is now on her thirteenth prosthetic leg, and she has a new home with someone special!
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In 1993 Maja Kazazic was 16 and living in Bosnia during a time of extreme political unrest. While sitting with friends in a courtyard, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded nearby – her friends were killed, and she was terribly wounded and covered in shrapnel. She was taken to a makeshift hospital in a basement, but there were no medicines or antibiotics, and she eventually lost her left leg to an infection. She came to the United States to recieve proper medical care for her leg and be fitted for a new leg.
Kazazic suffered from PTSD as a result of the attack, and during a visit to the Hangar Clinic, Christopher Toelle, the Director of Orthotics, told her to Rosie.
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“As I was talking to Chris, he said, ‘There is this dog I want you to check out that I think would be great for you,’ and he gave me a link to check her out.
“She’s a Great Dane, which I had always wanted, and then when I went to the link to check her out, I realized that she was missing a leg, and I said to myself, ‘This is my dog!'”
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Rosie is MUCH bigger now than she was at 10 weeks old! And she has been a big help when Kazazic is struggling with PTSD. Kazazic finds encouragement in Rosie’s spirit, and the fact that she never lets the loss of a limb bother her. Together, they visit hospitals and other amputees to give hope and show that life doesn’t end with the loss of a limb.
“I am a certified peer counselor, but I don’t think I can help as much as Rosie can. She is so comfortable on her prosthetic and it doesn’t stop her at all. I especially love it when we meet other disabled or amputee children that get to see Rosie as an inspiration.”
