Faith, a bipedal female dog, was born in December of 2002 with only three legs; two fully-developed hind legs and a deformed front leg, which was amputated soon after birth.[1] Her owner, Jude Stringfellow adopted Faith when the original owners feared her disability would leave her unable to move, and planned to euthanize her.[1] Instead, using a spoon with peanut butter as an incentive, Jude taught Faith to hop and later walk on her two hind legs, and the family's corgi would bark at Faith from another room, or nip her heels to urge her to walk.[1][2] Faith is not the only two-legged dog, there is a chihuahua in Texas, with a similar condition who also walks upright, but Faith is probably the most famous.[3]
Media coverage
A book has been published detailing Faith's story entitled With a Little Faith[4]. Faith and her owner, Jude Stringfellow, have also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show,[2] The Montel Williams Show, and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Faith also had a brief mention on the PBS show NOVA in the episode The Family That Walks On All Fours. [5] As a result of the media attention, Faith now has her own website, as well as her own page on MySpace.[6] A short article on Faith that appeared in the "racy" London lad mag Bizarre in 2004 was allegedly the cause of owner Stringfellow's dismissal from her community college teaching job.[7] The dog was also rumored to have been considered for an appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[8] In February 2007, MSNBC reported that American Airlines had accidentally sent Faith to a different destination than her owner, after changing planes in Dallas during a flight back from Oklahoma City to Orlando.[9][10] This was incorrectly reported on several news outlets. Jude Stringfellow contacted her lawyer and media when she realized her dog had not arrived on the same flight to Oklahoma City. A story was spun that "Faith" was lost, when in fact she was not. Faith had been in the Dallas Airport the entire time, Faith was never placed on a wrong flight. Faith and her owner were reunited a few hours later at the Oklahoma city airport.
References
- ^ a b c Ginnie Graham (2003). Two legs are just as good as four for OKC family pet (English). The Daily Ardmoreite - Tulsa World. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ a b Oprah Winfrey.com (2006). The Gift of Giving Back (English). Oprah Winfrey.com. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ NBC4 - District of Columbia (2007). 2-Legged Dog Wins Hearts - Nubby Celebrates 3rd Birthday (English). NBC4.com - Internet Broadcasting Systems,. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ Jude Stringfellow (2006). With a Little Faith, Second Edition. [S.l.]: Xlibris Corporation, 292. ISBN 1-4257-1849-3.
- ^ PBS (2006). Family that walks on all fours (English). Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ Mike Dougherty (2007). Digital Mike - Sites to see (English). Post-Bulletin. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ KFOR - NBC Oklahoma City (2004). Two legged dog 'Faith' draws unwanted attention (English). KFOR - NBC Oklahoma City. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ BBC News. "Potter film hope for disabled dog", BBC News Online, 9 September 2004. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
- ^ NBC4.com (2007). Airline Loses Celebrity 2-Legged Dog - 'Faith' Born Without Use Of Front Legs (English). NBC4.com - Internet Broadcasting Systems. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
- ^ MSNBC News Service (2007). Airline loses, then finds Faith (English). MSNBC. Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
