Sapphyre Johnson is 3 years old and was born with a condition that left her with only one toe on each foot. Doctors in Greeneville, Tennessee, decided to amputate them when she was a baby so she could use prosthetics and walk.
At Shriners Hospital for Children, where the girl receives treatment, a specialist had an idea. Karen Riddle, a dog breeder, was looking for a home for a German shepherd puppy born without one of his front legs. Instead of accepting what other breeders suggested, she decided to find him a special family. That puppy was named Lt. Dan.
When Sapphyre saw his photo for the first time, she had no doubt: “That is my puppy… he is just like me”. When she met him in person, she took off her prosthetics to show him her feet, and the puppy lifted his little paw at the same time, as if responding. Her mother, Ashley Johnson, described it simply: it was love at first sight between two who had finally found someone who understood what it means to be different.