Barb Felt isn’t a matchmaker; not in the traditional sense. But she’s helped create a relationship that seems destined to go the distance.
Felt breeds golden retrievers, and one of her recent pups — Marvel — was born without a front right paw. “When she was born, we knew right away: she has a special purpose,” Felt told CBS Minnesota. “We wanted her to go in a home with someone who had a limb difference.”
That “someone” turned out to be 7-year-old Paxton Williams, who at age 4 had his right foot amputated. Felt was introduced to the Williams family by Paxton’s occupational therapist, and it wasn’t long before Paxton and Marvel were becoming fast friends.
Paxton’s mom, Stephanie, says that the friendship runs deeper than just a boy and his dog. “As he’s introducing Marvel to kids in the neighbourhood, it gives him the opportunity to tell the kids, ‘Oh, she’s missing a paw, she’s like me.’ It gives him that voice to advocate for himself.”
