CINCINNATI — The Animal Friends Humane Society spent March sharing the story of Trooper, a puppy who survived being struck by a train but lost his back legs in the process, on Facebook. The pup immediately became a sensation, with hundreds of potentially loving homes clamoring to adopt him.
The shelter announced Monday it had finally selected a forever home for Trooper from a large pool of applicants.
Turns out, the lucky family claiming Trooper for their own may just be the perfect family for a pup like him.
"Typically we only adopt animals that have special needs," said Elizabeth Forman, a resident of Oxford, and Trooper's brand new fur-mother. "Other than that, he's a normal puppy. He's full of energy and he's really super inquisitive. And he's probably going to be fairly intelligent. He's real observant."
Forman and David Closky adopted Trooper together this week, and are uniquely qualified to care for him, with plenty of experience.
Their adopted son, Dwaine, wasn't supposed to live more than a few months when they adopted him.
He lived years longer, until the age of 17.
After caring for their son, they began to adopt special needs pets to love.
"And so we ended up with handicapped pets to make it a good blend," said Forman.
Trooper's older brother, Oliver, is a French mastiff missing a leg and wearing a diaper. So far, he and Trooper seem to get along great.
He loves it," said Forman. "He said, 'Wow there's people in the house that like me, that look just like me, that act like me. And they have ramps I can run up and down.'"
Trooper has even mastered the art of climbing up into bed already, and has been giving his brand new wheelchair a true workout. Forman says the wheelchair isn't designed to grow with him, so it will only last a couple more weeks before he outgrows it.
It's a lot of work to fill a house with special-needs animals. But Forman says it's a pleasure.
"Anybody can take in a handicapped dog if you can make the time."
