INDIANAPOLIS — An amputee golden retriever puppy found her forever home through an orthopedics center and a pediatric therapy clinic.
It started when a team member at Kenney Orthopedics in Greenwood heard of a breeder with a puppy who was born without her front leg.
Jenn Rosati contacted Pediplay, a pediatric therapy clinic that was looking for a therapy dog to see if they were interested. Within a few minutes, Morgan Doelling volunteered to adopt the puppy.
“I immediately called my fiancé and was like, ‘Hey I got a really cute puppy.’ After he was on board, we got hooked up with the breeder. She said she really thought Gouda was born for a reason,” said Doelling, a speech pathologist and assistant clinical director for Pediplay.
Doelling named the 13-week-old puppy Gouda because of the color of her fur. She wanted a fun name that kids could say.
“We were just looking for a therapy dog. I never thought it would be all the things we wanted in one special dog. From day one coming here and loving everyone so much, it’s just crazy. It’s such a sign that she is where she is meant to be,” Doelling said.
Gouda is Kenney Orthopedics’ first three-legged patient.
“As she is growing, we are working on protecting that limb by making sure she doesn’t whack it on anything or any skin breakdown,” said Jenn Rosati, a CPO at Kenney Orthopedics who sees pediatric patients who also attend Pediplay.
The team created a limb protector for Gouda by using a harness to attach it. Since she is growing so quickly, they are waiting to make her a prosthetic.
“Gouda is similar to kids because she is very wiggly, just like most of our kids are. She takes a little bit of bribery to do what we want, so we have lots of treats all the time. We have toys. We play,” Rosati said.
Gouda goes to work with her mom every day at Pediplay to start meeting kids and forming connections. She is the clinic’s first therapy dog.
“We want them to feel safe and calm and seeing a dog going through the same things they are, we thought would be a really neat thing,” Doelling said.
The kids at the clinic already love Gouda.
“One of the kids was crying and as soon as he saw Gouda, he just ran to her and he didn’t cry anymore. I’ve had kids say to me, ‘She wears braces like me.’ I think anytime they can connect in that way, where something is similar, and they can feel like life becomes more normal. It’s pretty magical,” said Stephany Jenkins, the clinic director for Pediplay.
Gouda will be taking classes to become an official therapy dog. She will also make appearances at some of Kenney Orthopedics events for their amputees throughout the year.
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