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3-Legged Stray Dog Gets Prosthetic Leg And Loving Home At Essex Vet Center

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Every day, stray dogs are brought into the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) in Baltimore City. Some stand out because of the hardships they've endured.

Mike Schuh shows us what happens when dog lovers unite to make life better for one special dog.

In Baltimore, strays survive thanks to ample food and trash just thrown away found lying in streets and alleys, abandoned houses and a patchwork of places to hide.

One of them was skin and bones when brought to BARCS. She couldn't walk in; her foot was crushed and missing.

"We saw that she had three-quarters of the leg still there," Dr. Joe Zulty of the Essex Middle River Veterinary Center said.

So she was sent to the Essex Middle River Veterinary Center for amputation, but Zulty just couldn't do it.

"She's wagging her tail. She wants to go. She wants to run," Zulty said.

"It's that unconditional love they have for you," the dog's keeper Karen said.

They named her Kisses, and she bonded with Karen, her special keeper.

What happened next: No amputation, but an enhancement.

Kisses got a prosthetic leg. But with no home, she stayed at the vet's.

After eight months in a cage, Karen thought she needed a change and took this ball of energy home to foster.

That was four months ago and Karen couldn't give up Kisses.

"I remember the day when it just hit me. I knew I couldn't do it. There was no way," she explained.

Friday was a special day for the three-legged dog and her two-legged friend.

Exactly one year since Kisses arrived, Karen signed the papers to adopt her.

BARCS has a fund to help all animals needing medical attention, and the Essex Middle River Veterinary Center is also accepting donations at its front desk to defray the $15,000 cost of the treatment for Kisses.

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