In February, I went to the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Florida. This is the world's largest pet trade show, encompassing the equivalent of eleven football fields. Retailers attend to learn about new products to purchase for their stores. You can only imagine how some exhibitors and manufacturers "put on the dog" to impress the attendees and entice them into their booths. The star of this year's Expo was Faith, the two legged dog who was there to thrill us all.

Faith is a mixed-breed dog who was born without her front legs. No one expected her to survive because it was thought that she would lay on her chest, thus causing an abscess. It is amazing that she learned to push herself up on her two back legs and then learned to hop. Hopping became walking, and now this incredible dog walks upright like a human with no apparent difficulty at all. She has become a celebrity, appearing on the Montel Williams show and in a Harry Potter film. Her story and a clip from Montel's show is featured on YouTube (www.youtube.com). Search under 'two-legged dog' and she will come up. But you will also bring up another wonderful two-legged dog named Dominic. His video is just as amazing. Dominic is a Greyhound who was in an accident that caused him to lose both legs on one side. It never slowed him down. He runs like the wind, fetching and retrieving toys as if he has no handicap at all. How can he do it? It's seems so against the odds.

Closer to home is my new three-legged friend, Zeke. Zeke is a beautiful three-year-old black Giant Schnauzer. He was rescued by Jim and Ruth Rodefeld from the Indianapolis Humane Society. He met with some bad luck in hip surgery that resulted in him being taken to the shelter. The vet there took a chance and amputated his leg. When the Rodefeld's adopted him, and when I first met him, he still had his sutures. He didn't seem to be too bothered. That was, perhaps, seven weeks ago. I saw him yesterday, and he is doing fabulously, and I am told he is a wonderful, sweet dog. I am so impressed that the Humane Society didn't put him down. Apparently missing legs is more common than we know. I have another customer with a three-legged dog who is a wonderful companion to her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer's. She tells me there is a three-legged dog club in England.

We can probably all take a lesson from this. Perhaps the message is that you don't have to be whole to be complete. When we are down, our pet friends cheer us up. The videos on YouTube of Faith and Dominic will put a smile on your face. Do yourself a favor and tune in.