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Never missing a step: the story of fast friends Ava and Thor

Special pup came into family's life at the perfect time

There are so many sights and sounds of joy in the bustling Degannes home these days, what with a fuzzy wonder pup named Thor keeping them all busy and entertained. In turn, the family has been keeping him hopping too, and for more reasons than one.

The adorable four-month-old Bernese mountain dog was born with one foreleg underdeveloped, leaving its paw dangling while the other leg works extra. He doesn’t seem to mind much, as he bounds and tumbles, friskily playing with the five kids of the house. He’s the perfect dog with nary a gruff complaint to be heard.

He’s also perfect for Ava, the vibrantly rainbow-haired daughter of the house. The 14-year-old girl won him in a kind of contest last month, which proves how perfectly everything has come together. Sure, there were pet cats and rabbits and even a fish already in this Akinsdale ark, but no pooch.

Ava always wanted a puppy, her mom Melissa Degannes said, but that’s just how the story starts.

“I’ve always said no,” Melissa confessed, though things changed fast when she read about an offer that Jennifer Stroesser had for the public.

The breeder from Myrnam suddenly had an unexpectedly large litter of 11 purebred puppies delivered in the kennel, and Thor stood out from the rest for obvious reasons.

“He’s a pretty special dog. All the years we’ve been breeding, it’s never happened before. He was perfectly healthy other than that. We bottle fed him for a little while because it was harder for him to get a hold of something to drink. There were 11 puppies in total so he got pushed to the side,” Stroesser said. “He still was able to do everything else and probably just as good and sometimes better than the other puppies.”

With such a special animal, she decided that she wanted to find someone just as special to give him to. She put out the request in mid-May for anyone to write back and say why they were just that person. As expected, there were hundreds of responses. Melissa wrote in. Ava did, too. Stroesser shortlisted a few names and then visited them at home.

Maybe there was something so endearing about the chalk-written ‘Welcome’ sign on the driveway at the Degannes home that tugged at her heartstrings. Maybe Stroesser couldn’t help but feel how strong the family is and how much love they all have to share. It’s true. The house had everything else already, just no dog.

“Her biggest thing was she wanted him to go to a family that was special because he was special,” Melissa said.

Stroesser just knew that Ava was special enough to be the one to choose because of her story. There’s no better word than perfect. Dogs have already been integral to her recovery from bone cancer, even when she stayed at the Stollery Children’s Hospital for treatment. There is nothing like a visit from the resident pet therapy dog.

“Ava is a very strong believer in pet therapy. When the dogs came around during her chemo, it was the highlight of her day,” Melissa said, continuing on about their dreams of having Thor. “We have a huge family that has a lot of love to give, so he would have a lot of love. He'd be therapeutic, not just to Eva, but to all of us. It's hard when she's in the hospital for her siblings. The biggest thing was just therapy. It would benefit us to come together as a family and look after something.”

They hope to eventually make Thor a therapy dog for others too.

The precious pooch has lived with them for less than three weeks now and it’s already hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t there. Ava is doing good too, though she just finished more treatment for a relapse. She’s at home and walks with a hop that practically makes her Thor’s twin.

They’re a perfect match and each is exactly what the other wanted and needed in their lives. Melissa called it “divine intervention” to describe the timing of when Thor became the newest member of the household.

“I’ve wanted a dog for so long,” the lively Ava said, never missing a step. “We finally have him and he's really good. We just have so much love to give him and I love him so much. My last day in the hospital was like five days ago. I got a day pass to come see him because I missed him so much. I think he's the best dog ever.”


Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

About the Author: Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ecology and Environment Reporter at the Fitzhugh Newspaper since July 2022 under Local Journalism Initiative funding provided by News Media Canada.
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