A leg for 'Stumpy' the Story Dog

Early last year (2016) Stumpy and I (Cindy) went through an accreditation and training process to become a Story Dogs volunteer dog team. Stumpy loves going to school every week, despite the numerous operations last year on his one good front paw.

Increasingly, Stumpy has periods of excruciating pain when his whole musculoskeletal system is thrown out of balance as he tries to compensate for the missing part of his front leg. However, he's so enthusiastic about going to school and reading with 'his' students that Cindy became a Story Dogs Coordinator for areas North and West of Melbourne. That means that Stumpy gets to go more places and meet more dogs and people! Now 6 years old, the use of a prosthesis will greatly enhance Stumpy's quality of life and increase his life span, while reducing pain. Use of the prosthesis will also extend his time as a Story Dog.

A special prosthesis: Stumpy is very lucky to have state of the art technology with a removable leg that will fit over his stump. The wonderful team at Dogs in Motion https://www.dogsinmotion.com.au are creating, fitting and will be helping Stumpy get used to his new leg. Prostheses are made in the USA meaning that the costs associated with them are high.

Money raised will pay for the prosthesis, the fitting, and the ongoing adjustments.

Without a new leg Stumpy would have to give up his Story Dogs duties at Our Lady of Mt Carmel school in Sunbury Victoria.

Thank you for your assistance!

The Story Dogs not-for-profit organisation was formed in 2009 in Murwillumbah, NSW by Leah Sheldon and Janine Sigley, both parents of primary and high school children. Story Dogs is based on the successful American literacy program: Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.) which was launched in 1999 in Utah USA, as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of children and young adolescents reading to dogs.

Underpinning the objectives of our program is the knowledge that “students with reading difficulties find themselves in a cycle of almost unrelenting failure that ensures an ever – widening gap between them and fluent readers” (Konza, 2006. p. 152).

During 2009, we ran a trial at Murwillumbah East Public School (MEPS), with three dog teams. This trial was very successful with positive feedback from students, teachers, the principal and parents. From that trial the program has continued to expand across Australia.