Skittles the dog hasn’t let disability slow her down

A group of disabled dogs in Sparta, Ont. has been getting international recognition, thanks to the trainers at Ultimutts Stunt Dog Show.

However, there’s one rescue pup in particular that’s getting a lot of attention — Skittles.

Melissa Millett, owner of In Dogs We Trust training and Ultimutts Stunt Dog Show, said the four-month-old puppy was born with spina bfida and was going to be euthanized because of her disability.

"I brought her here, and guess what, obviously... fell in love,” said Melissa .

With Melissa’s training, Skittles is proving that anything is paw-ssible.

“She's running and there's very significant improvement. So it's obvious that this is the home for her," she added.

Initially, Skittles would walk with a limp and drag one of her legs around. Now, she moves around — at her own pace — with other dogs.

Those other dogs are Melissa’s other rescues. A group of scooter-riding, basketball playing, deaf dogs.

Her sister, Melanie Millett, also trains them. Melanie said training disabled dogs isn’t impossible, it’s just different.

"Recalls can be a bit more challenging because they can't hear. So, we do definitely have to find some different cues for the dogs but all in all, I find it just as easy and just as fun to train my deaf puppies," said Melanie.

The deaf dogs are award winners and movie actors that travel around the world.

“I want to show everybody that there's one small piece of their life, that maybe they have a disability that they can't perform. But there's so much that these dogs can do. So we just find out 'what are their strengths," Melissa added.

For example, Skittle’s weakness is that she has to wear a diaper all the time, held up by rainbow-coloured suspenders.

However, her strength, Melissa said, is inspiration.

"I want everybody overall to know that there's ways for us to be successful in life,” she said. “If there's one small piece, that we might have a disability or something that we're not great at, we just have to… like I train the dogs… look in ourselves; what are we amazing at, and run in that direction.”

Learn more about Ultimutts here.