| Woodrow is a blue nose pittie that was found in a forest preserve off of Route 52 in the Joliet area. A concerned citizen brought him to the Will County Humane Society. Will County Humane Society works with the Crest Hill Cat & Dog Clinic. The shelter Brought an approximately 4-5 week old pit puppy in for an exam. His rear hind paws were missing due to trauma from another animal, he was not born this way. Two of the three vets voted to put Woodie down because they were concerned about his quality of life and whether or not he would be able to thrive. The shelter manager did not think this was the best route to go and contacted friends and fellow animal lovers Jenn & David Grelck to see if they could take in this young pup, care for him, and change his bandages twice a day. In addition to bandage changes he went for laser therapy at the clinic. A wonderful vet tech at the clinic mentioned that JJC had a prosthetics and vet program that has 3d printing and each semester the students have a contest or a project to show what they have learned. Jenn googled the program information at JJC and emailed the Professor in charge of the department that evening. In a wonderful turn of events the professor responded quickly and asked if Woodie could come in and meet the class. Woodie loves people and is a regular at the Grelck’s real estate office. He enjoyed meeting the class who collectively workied on the prosthetics. The greatest challenges have been his constant continuing growth, keeping the feet clean and dry and not limiting his mobility. Woodie can do the stairs and walks the neighborhood daily with his fur siblings. the prosthetics J.J.C provided earlier this summer have enabled Woodie to show the world just how mighty this little pup is and that his lack of paws is not a limitation on him as a being. Hit gait is smooth when wearing prosthetics, he jumps and uses his hind legs for support (standing and using only the prosthetics for support) something he was unable to do without the prosthetics. When he walks the town of Plainfield for ice cream, socialization, or just to get in some good smells he appears to be like any other four legged furkid. Neighbors and friends met along the way ask if he has a recent injury and cannot believe that he is without rear back paws. Which usually leads to use showing Woodies facebook page and getting more followers and supporters. He is truly an example of life is best to be lived and differences can only make a being unique and special. Before the Grelck’s met Woodie neither of us had any experience with prosthetics or an injury that required daily care on a dog or person. Woodrow trusted his family mom dad and fur billings and knows that when he has to sit still for prosthetic removal or vet checks soothing tones and kisses to Mom and Dad make it better. We have learned that life is what you make of it and hope to keep the positive outlook Woodrow shows in out advocacy for pets in need of rescue. The foster to adopt opportunity has impacted both David and Jenn greatly and has now set the challenge for them to want to do more to help animals in need |
