Spunky Pup Gets A Leg Up On Life Fitted With New Limb, Will Visit Disabled Kids

He’s all floppy paws, damp nose and flailing tail - just what you would expect for a 14-week-old puppy.

With all that brown-eyed wonder, you hardly notice that Buford the black Labrador-springer spaniel mix is missing his left hind leg.

No one really knows how he lost his leg, but thanks to his new owner, Pam Scott, and the work of Kendall Carpenter, who normally creates artificial limbs for humans, Buford is now getting around on all fours.

Scott spotted Buford at the Josephine County Animal Shelter and fell in love.

“I’m a pushover,” said Scott, who raises German shepherds.

“My husband said, ‘Don’t go look at the dogs,’ and of course, I did.

“He was sitting in the middle of the aisle, getting his cage cleaned. I picked him up and that was that.”

Carpenter built Buford’s new leg from scratch, fashioning a thermoplastic socket to snugly fit his stump, then combining wood, Kevlar and carbon fiber for the leg.

The socket has several layers that can shed as Buford grows, but he will need replacements over the next three years.

“I’m just more than happy to do it,” said Carpenter, who opened a local branch of Oregon Orthopedic last August.

“It’s a nice thing to do for a nice dog.”

Buford was a bit befuddled by the new leg, having grown accustomed to using his tail for a crutch. But it’s critical he accept the leg so his young spine aligns correctly.

In the lobby of Carpenter’s office, giggling children smothered him with hugs, more attuned to his pink tongue and swatch of white fur that runs from his chin to his stomach than to his missing leg.

That gave Scott an idea. She would take Buford to visit disabled children.

“I think it’s great for handicapped kids to have someone to identify with. He’ll look just like them,” she said.

“He’s got the perfect personality. He likes everybody.”