When a two-pound baby Great Dane was brought to the vet by a breeder in order to be put down because of his deformed paws, an animal lover named LB was not going to let that happen.
As soon as The Animal Pad rescue got a call informing them about what was going to happen to this poor pup, LB immediately rushed over and took him in as her foster.
Since she has fostered countless animals before, LB was more than prepared to take care of this adorable puppy.
However, she had no idea how important he would be in her life.
Special Pup
The pup by the name of Forrest was born with deformed paws that were curling over, resembling ballerina’s toes. Because of this, Forrest had some trouble walking.
“We were racing against the clock to fix his feet before he grew too big. Every pound he grew was another pound to be held on these feet that were just not able to bear weight,” LB told The Dodo.
As days passed, walking for Forrest just became more and more difficult.
LB started emailing every single vet and orthopedic she could, asking for help. Unfortunately, as none of them came across a similar case in their careers, they didn’t really know what to do.
But, as Forrest was a pup who loved to grow, LB was running out of time.
However, when LB was told that she should reach out to Lumen and her parents, everything changed!
Similar Case
Lumen was a pup who was born with the exact same deformities as Forrest. But, this wasn’t the only thing these two pups had in common.
Lumen was brought to the same vet Forrest was in, and she was also supposed to be put down.
Luckily, she was adopted right away by incredible hoomans who were able to find a vet who managed to fix her paws with surgery.
“After talking to Lumen’s parents, we realized that there was no way that Lumen and Forrest weren’t related because of just the rareness of their deformities and how they both came from the same place in the world,” she said.
Since Forrest was lucky enough to have a long-lost sister who paved the way for him, he was able to get the help he needed.
Being connected to Lumen’s vet in Oregon State, LB, Forrest, and the director of The Animal Pad, Lauren, got into the van and road-tripped all the way from San Diego to Eugene to change this good boy’s life forever.
At The Vet
As soon as they arrived at the Eugene vet’s office, Forrest was given a checkup and was immediately put into surgery.
“He will need surgery on all four paws. We don’t really know what it will look like because one paw at a time,” said Lauren.
Because he needed to have constant checkups between the surgeries, and as his paws healed, Forrest had to stay in Oregon for a couple of months.
Luckily, Forrest was in good hands.
He had a full team of foster parents, including Lumen’s family, who made sure that he had everything that he needed in order to make a fast recovery.
After five months, Forrest was ready to come back home.
“He might have grown, like, five times his size, but it was like nothing had changed,” said LB.
New Life
While Forrest was still in Oregon, LB met a man named Tyler who, after meeting the brave pup, totally fell in love with him.
“I went over and there’s just this big, goofy Great Dane with some silly-looking feet. He looks up at me with these sweet little eyes. I go, ‘Oh yeah, we are going to be friends.’ I just wrestled with him for the better part of an hour. It was just love at first sight. It was just so much fun,” said Tyler.
Because Forrest was still in recovery, he wasn’t able to move too much. But, since he did need the exercise, Tyler put him on a soft surface and played with him.
Whenever LB, Forrest, and Tyler would spend some time outside, Tyler would end up carrying Forrest because his feet would hurt after walking a long time.
As Forrest and Tyler started hanging out more and more, the two became inseparable.
“One day, he was just sitting on the floor, snuggling with Forrest, and he said, ‘That’s it. I’m adopting the dog,’” said LB.
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Forrest was the happiest pup ever when he found out that he was going to spend his life with his best friend, Tyler.
Tyler loved taking Forrest to the beach as the soft sand wasn’t hurting his feet.
“Seeing him run for the first time, safely, and then feel good afterward was a really cool moment for me,” she added.
Forrest is truly living the life of every dog’s dream.
Not only did he manage to overcome his disabilities, but he is also being spoiled by every hooman around, having incredible playdates and never-ending fun!
Good boy, Forrest!
