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PHOTOS: Disabled Pups and Their Caretakers Gather for 8th Annual Three-Legged Dog Picnic

Muna Danish
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Three-legged pups Wallace and Filbert 'met as Instagram friends' according to their owners Alyssa Twomey (left) and Trina Chow (right). (Muna Danish/KQED)

Disabled pups had a reason to celebrate this Sunday at Duboce Park in San Francisco. The Three-Legged Dog Picnic brought together special needs canines of all kinds including amputees, dogs with cones, casts, one eye, and wheelchairs, and pups that are blind, deaf, and toothless.

Franny Naserole started the event in Dolores Park after she saw a three-legged dog chasing a frisbee. “I thought what if there were two three-legged dogs chasing that frisbee…or three?” says Naserole.

Volunteers and caretakers with a nonprofit called Muttville, which rescues senior dogs, were also there with their older dogs. Volunteer Craig Hermes says they placed over a thousand dogs in homes last year.

People from all over the Bay Area came out with their three-legged or disabled dogs, and shared stories about their furry friends while enjoying the sunny afternoon and live ukulele music by jazz musician Belinda Blair.

Ivette Zaldivar is a high school teacher who is fostering a blind and deaf dog named Mitch. She has fostered over 30 dogs in one with the organization Muttville. 'My quality of life is much higher with him...he is my antidepressants,' she says.
Ivette Zaldivar is a high school teacher who is fostering a blind and deaf dog named Mitch. She has fostered over 30 dogs in one year with the organization Muttville. ‘My quality of life is much higher with him…he is my equivalent of antidepressants,’ she says. (Muna Danish/KQED)
'The greatest thing about senior dogs is they are more tame," says teacher Ivette Zaldivar, who is fostering this dog with the organization Muttville.
‘The greatest thing about senior dogs is they are more tame,’ says teacher Ivette Zaldivar, who fosters dogs through the nonprofit Muttville. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Linda McKay has been a volunteer with Muttville for seven years. She is pictured here with Cupcake, who was found as a stray in LA and treated for a benign tumor. Cupcake is now up for adoption through Muttville.
Linda McKay has been a volunteer with Muttville for seven years. She is pictured here with Cupcake, who was found as a stray in Los Angeles and treated for a benign tumor. Cupcake is now up for adoption through Muttville. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Jenny Seiphers is from El Cerrito and came with her Great Dane, Heidi. Heidi's leg was recently amputated due to bone cancer. 'She was up and walking 24 hours after surgery,' says Seiphers.
Jenny Seiphers is from El Cerrito and came with her Great Dane, Heidi. Heidi’s leg was recently amputated due to bone cancer. ‘She was up and walking 24 hours after surgery,’ says Seiphers. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Bruno and three-legged pup Olive. Olive got hit by a car and was adopted the day after her surgery. 'I got her as a companion for Bruno, but he doesn't seem to care,' says owner Joey Romano from Martinez.
Bruno (left) and three-legged pup Olive (right). Owner Joey Romano from Martinez says Olive got hit by a car and he adopted her the day after her surgery. ‘I got her as a companion for Bruno, but he doesn’t seem to care,’ says Romano. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Scooter is a Miniature Pinscher who has no movement in his back legs. He's up for adoption through Nobody's Perfekt Dogs, a special needs adoption center in the East Bay.
Scooter is a Miniature Pinscher who has no movement in his back legs. He’s up for adoption through Nobody’s Perfekt Dogs, a special needs adoption center in the East Bay. (Muna Danish/KQED)
The 8th Annual Three Legged Dog Picnic convened dog lovers at Duboce Park on Sunday, July 8th.
The 8th Annual Three-Legged Dog Picnic convened dog lovers at Duboce Park on Sunday, July 8th. (Muna Danish/KQED)
'She's feisty, stubborn, and super cuddly,' says Jenny Seiphers of her dog Heidi.
‘She’s feisty, stubborn, and super cuddly,’ says Jenny Seiphers of her three-legged Great Dane, Heidi. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Sarah Buyco (left) and Tyler Weber (right) with their dog Penny, a pit bull / terrier mix who was born without a fourth leg. 'She's forever a puppy, super happy and friendly,' says Weber. They both fostered other dogs with Wonder Dog Rescue in San Francisco.
Sarah Buyco (left) and Tyler Weber (right) with their dog Penny (left), a pit bull and terrier mix who was born without a fourth leg. ‘She’s forever a puppy, super happy and friendly,’ says Weber. They both fostered other dogs with Wonder Dog Rescue in San Francisco. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Attendees hung out with their pups at Duboce Park on Sunday, July 8th.
Attendees hung out with their pups at Duboce Park on Sunday, July 8th. (Muna Danish/KQED)
Belinda Blair from the jazz cover band Jelly Roll played the ukulele for attendees.
Belinda Blair from the jazz cover band, Jelly Roll, played the ukulele throughout the day. (Muna Danish/KQED)

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