Dog has two legs, unlimited supply of love

Daisy the dog, lying next to a person whose hand is hugging her

Daisy went from a shelter to a home with an adopter who can’t get enough of her endless smiles.

By Nicole Hamilton

June 3, 2022

When it comes to love, Daisy is all about equal opportunity: She's ready and willing to give it to everyone she meets. She’s as comfortable with people as she is with other dogs and loves to play in the yard almost as much as she loves a good cuddle session on the couch with her adopter, Jeanine Elson. Never mind that Daisy is missing the lower half of her hind legs. Nothing seems to cloud her sunny disposition.

“She’s just a happy and healthy girl,” says Danielle Barnhart, manager of lifesaving and care for Best Friends in Salt Lake City. Danielle made the three-and-a-half-hour drive to a shelter near Cedar City, Utah, to transport Daisy back to Best Friends after reading a post from the shelter on a Facebook page for Utah rescue groups.

When Daisy arrived at Best Friends in Utah, the medical team’s evaluation could not determine why she’s missing a portion of her legs. But it was clear that she wasn’t in any pain and didn’t show any sign of having difficulty getting around. In fact, she didn’t need any medical treatment whatsoever. All she really needed was a home that she could easily navigate, where everything that brings her joy would be easily accessible. That didn’t take long to find.

After Jeanine read about Daisy and fell in love with her story, she decided to go meet her at Best Friends. “The second she walked in, she had my heart and we brought her home,” says Jeanine. “I just thought that she’d be perfect in my household, and that there isn’t anything we couldn’t get through.” Although Jeanine has worked with or cared for dogs with special needs as a foster volunteer for decades, Daisy is the first dog she has immediately adopted.

Daisy moves throughout her new home with ease, although she needs help getting up on the couch (which she now owns outright) or on the bed where she sleeps alongside Jeanine.

To help Daisy get up the four stairs that lead into the house from the backyard, Jeanine places a blanket around her belly and holds her back end up while she climbs the stairs.

As for going downstairs, Daisy does just fine on her own. And she has no problem letting everyone know how she feels by barking — at times quite loudly.

“That’s just part of her wonderful character,” says Jeanine. “She loves all people, all animals, everything. She’s very happy. It’s total love.”