Prosthetic Paw Gives Doomed Dog a Second Chance

A dog facing euthanization after the loss of a paw was saved by the kind hearted veterinary technician who refused to give up on him.

The young male dog was relinquished by its owners, who said they could not afford his veterinary expenses. He was left at the Merced Veterinary Clinic and was scheduled to be put down.

Veterinary technician Xenia Onofre said she could not let that happen. She fell for ‘Skip’ and took a special interest in his case. “He was young and he was a puppy. I felt like he deserved a chance to be a dog and be a puppy,” Onofre told KFSN.

The Merced Hanger Clinic, the same clinic that made the first ever prosthetic dolphin tail for Winter, a bottlenose dolphin, was contacted and said they were confident they could find a solution for Skip.

“Without that paw, it puts stress on the other joints of his body, wearing him out prematurely,” Spencer Greene told ABCNews. “We needed to do something so he could walk on that leg.”

Greene made a mold of Skip’s limb in order to develop a prosthetic that fit precisely. And it did. As soon it was on, Skip was a new dog.

“He just literally took off running when he had it on,” Greene said. Now, Skip is “able to run longer and play like other dogs,” according to the Hanger Clinic, who generously waived the bill.

“It’s a great little project. We did it free of charge as a way to give back. It’s just been very gratifying,” Greene said. “Things have really changed for him.”




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35 comments

  • March 30, 2012 8:01 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Casandra

    Such an awesome story. LOVE it.

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  • March 30, 2012 8:01 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Katherine

    Hoorah for the vet techs—you guys don’t get enuf credit!!!

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    March 30, 2012 8:03 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Steven

    Righteous!

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    March 30, 2012 8:04 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Becky

    Big thanks to Ms. Onofre and the kind people at the Merced Hanger Clinic! <3

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  • March 30, 2012 8:05 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Lori

    How sweet god bless her for saving his life

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    March 30, 2012 8:07 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Andy

    We love our fur kids and we love those who help us keep them healthy and well :-)

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    March 30, 2012 8:09 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Timothy

    LOVE IT!!!!

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    March 30, 2012 8:12 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Robyn

    What a great way to end the week. I love a happy dog story! Kudos and eight enthusiastic paws-up from the four-leggers in the Galvin house to the vet clinic for donating their time and talents to let this dog be a normal dog.

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    March 30, 2012 8:13 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Cristina

    this should be frontline news the good stories always get the back burner, this is a real heartwarming story thank you for sharing.

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    March 30, 2012 8:16 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Sherri

    What a wonderful story! Go Skip!

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    March 30, 2012 8:17 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Cecilia

    Sad case but what the clinic did is beautiful

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    March 30, 2012 8:18 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Judi

    Thankyou 4 showing kindness

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  • March 30, 2012 8:21 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Mary

    Never, ever give up! You precious llittle boy. Now you have your forever home!

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    March 30, 2012 8:22 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Sue

    This warmed my heart thank you for renewing my faith in people, we only hear about the bad things going on in our world.

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  • March 30, 2012 8:24 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Crystal

    When my old Vet’s office “cleaned” house and got rid of the rescue friendly, customer service oriented, nice vet techs who truly cared about the animals…business has gone way way downhill.

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  • March 30, 2012 8:29 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Dianne

    Awesome.

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    March 30, 2012 8:29 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Rose

    Give Man’s Best Friend another chance in Life……They deserved it.

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    March 30, 2012 8:33 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Essie

    God bless you and thank you for your kindness to our beloved friend.

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    March 30, 2012 8:36 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Joan

    Beautiful story made my day:)

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    March 30, 2012 8:45 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Laurel

    Wonderful!!:)

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    March 30, 2012 9:32 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Sam

    AWESOME!!!!!!!

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  • March 30, 2012 9:35 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Rena

    That is awesome, so happy to hear that some ppl never give up and do amazing things for our wonderful creatures…!!! God Bless You..!!!

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    March 30, 2012 9:36 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Sheri

    Nowthisreally is Pawsome!! Bless that vets heart <3

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    March 30, 2012 9:36 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Erin

    How amazing!!

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    March 30, 2012 9:38 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Karen

    Had to share !!

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  • March 30, 2012 9:38 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Judy

    so wonderful

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    March 30, 2012 10:11 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Michelle

    Too cool. Good for him! :)

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  • March 30, 2012 10:38 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Kim

    love love love this !!!!!!!!!!!!

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    March 30, 2012 10:39 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Susan

    A lucky dog!

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  • March 30, 2012 10:42 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Carolyn

    <3

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    March 30, 2012 11:01 pmPosted 1 year ago
    Karen

    This is a wonderful story. I do feel for the original owners tho. These solutions are so expensive. This puppy had the right vet tech!

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    March 31, 2012 2:03 amPosted 1 year ago
    Lisa

    This is an amazing story!! It’s wonderful what can be done theses days! My chihuahua has a degenerative disease that makes the joints in her legs weak and makes it difficult for her to walk. They normally do a surgery that fuses the ankle joints so they can walk…but she is only 3 lbs and her bones are too small for the pins! I found an amazing lady in Toronto, Canada who makes prosestecitcs and braces for animals! It’s called Pawsability.ca. It’s wonderful. My dog now wears leg braces on her front legs. And she runs and jumps just like the old days. I’m so happy because I don’t know what would have happened without them!!! Thank you to people like this and in this story who go the extra mile for the animals we love!! :)

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  • March 31, 2012 2:47 amPosted 1 year ago
    Deb

    Awww congtats lil buddy! He’s smiling lol so sweet!

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  • March 31, 2012 3:40 amPosted 1 year ago
    Neelambari

    I believe a 3 legged dog can survive -y put him down -anyway now alls well n he’s alive ths lucky pup! God blesss evryone who helped

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    March 31, 2012 4:29 amPosted 1 year ago
    Gretchen

    Wonderful story

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