A dog who had his two front legs amputated doesn’t let it hold him back and happily hops around “like a kangaroo”.
Labrador mix Luke was a stray when he was hit by a car in Afghanistan and taken to a vets where his legs were amputated.
The stranger who had rushed the pooch to the vets was shocked when they saw the state of his open wounds and took him to rescue centre Good World Animal Rescue and Protection (GWARP).
There he had five operations to stop the infection and he was nursed back to health.
Irina Selick, 30, came across Luke’s story on Instagram and couldn’t help but fall in love.
When she saw he has pulled through and was up for adoption she her fiancée, Mike Vishnevestsky, 32, a project manager in biotech, decided to take him in.
Luke arrived at their home in Princeton, New Jersey, US, in January 2024 and has settled in with their two other rescue dogs – Andy, eight, and Gigi, 11.
The happy pup bounds around up on his two back legs or on his stomach and can climb up stairs and jump up just like his fellow four-legged friends.
Irina, a business analyst, said: “I had been following their page for a little bit.
“They started posting about Luke in September.
“It was really awful. I was just sobbing when I saw him.
“I just prayed for him every night.
“I didn’t know if he was going to make it.
“He hops around like a kangaroo or he puts his stomach on the floor.
“He’s so happy and so energetic.
“He’s so happy with two legs.”
Irina had been heartbroken when she heard Luke’s story.
She said: “The vet saw he had broken his legs and decided to amputate one but he didn’t even close the wound.
“He then got an infection so they had to amputate the other leg.
“When the person who rescued him picked him up they were shocked.
“They took him to the shelter.
“They had to perform five surgeries.”
Irina had been following along on Instagram and saw he was up for adoption.
She said: “I saw he was up for adoption but I had too much going on to adopt him.
“In October he had had no adoption applications.
“I thought this is a sign to apply for him.
“God wanted me to have him.”
Luke was flown over in January 2024 and slotted into the family straight away.
Irina said: “He took to me and my fiancée immediately. He was so friendly and licking our faces.
“I didn’t know what to expect from him.
“But he just moves around. He can go up and down the stairs. He can jump on the couch and on the bed.
“You see him and you feel a bit bad for a dog like that.
“But he doesn’t realise anything is wrong with him.”
Luke is also best friends with German Shepard mix Andy and the pair play and snuggle up together.
Irina said: “It’s so adorable.
“A lot of comments are people saying ‘he should have be put down’ or ‘that’s no way for him to live’.
“He has such an amazing life.
“Those comments really hurt me.
Irina say Luke always gets lots of attention and love when they take him out.
She said: “He makes people so happy.”
She hopes others will consider rescuing and adopting dogs.
Irina said: “I don’t judge anyone who wants to buy a pure breed.
“But there are so many that really deserve a home and I think are overlooked because of a disability or because they are not the prettiest dog.”
