The Burnside Writers Collective is "an online magazine for Christians looking for a connection with the world outside of franchise Christianity," originally founded in part by Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz).  Last Fall they published a touching reflection by Matt Cannon about an elderly and somewhat ornery three-legged, visually impaired hound dog his wife brought home from a shelter shortly before she was due to be put down.

In "Wobbly Grace," Cannon writes about his relationship with 'Wobbles,' affectionately named for being not quite so steady on her feet as their other dogs:

In dealing with Wobbles, I showed a greater degree of compassion.  I was gentle, patient, and kind.  I showed her grace on a daily basis.

I guess I did this because I was fairly certain that she had suffered her share of hardships throughout the years.  Of course, I had no idea how she lost her leg or exactly how she had been treated throughout her life.  All I knew was what I saw and what I saw was a three-legged, half-blind dog who didn’t have much life left in her.  I was determined not to make it any worse by treating her poorly.

I hope you can read "Wobbly Grace" for yourself.  In addition to the commendable account of Wobble's adoption, Cannon also draws a meaningful analogy between the grace we can demonstrate to animals who show effects of emotional and physical abuse in their past, and the grace we can make an effort to show to disagreeable people who may well be showing us their own underlying wounds. 

Wobbles' story also made me think of the incredibly inspirational story of Faith, a two-legged dog who was saved from an early death and learned to walk on her own as a biped:

(photo (not Wobbles) courtesy user Hundehalter, Wikipedia Commons (license); video posted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch)