A young dog’s miraculous recovery continues to impact Southwest Ohio.
In March of 2019, the news in Butler County and beyond was rocked by a sad saga. A puppy who had been abandoned had been deeply wounded by being hit by a train. The situation left him without back legs and with some other injuries. The community rallied around Trooper the dog and the story of his recovery.
More than 400 families applied to adopt him; among the applicants, Trooper found his forever home with Betsy Forman and her family.
One of the ways in which Forman’s family home stood out was that it was already built with dog accessibility in mind, given that Trooper needs special mobility assistance even after his surgeries and recovery. Forman’s family currently have seven dogs including Trooper, all who have a variety of disabilities and special needs. Each one is dear to the family and part of Forman’s special connection to animals, from Oliver to Mr. Banks, from Annabelle to Theodore.
“I had my first impaired dog when I was 21 or 22,” she explains. “Over the years, I’d just take in more of them; it’s never dull, that’s for sure.”
Trooper had more media attention than other dogs in the family, being a puppy and having captured the hearts of so many. A friend offered to start a Facebook page for Trooper, which, to this day, still has 15000 followers. Locals and national visitors alike enjoy watching Trooper’s excited approach to life and love for his brothers and sister at home.
Forman and her family saw that Trooper might have an opportunity to affect other animals positively, given how social he was and how much the public responded to him.
“People kept asking about meeting him, so I came up with the idea that he could do corporate and social events if it would benefit the rescues or other animals,” says Forman. “He did fabulous things: we did 3-4 appearances a day, 7 days a week at one point, generating massive amounts of donations. We know at one point he had collected more than a quarter million dollars; we don’t pick where the donations go, so if you are a school or a business, you’d raise the donations, then you would pick where I’d take them and drop them off.”
Trooper’s growth over the past year has led to him scaling back on public appearances, but his cute pictures with his family are still available on the Facebook page “The Trooper Telegraph.” One of the reminders that Forman hopes people learn from Trooper’s journey is that a high quality of life is entirely possible for many dogs experiencing disabilities.
“He doesn’t let his disability hold him back, and he’s deliriously happy; you have no idea,” explains Forman. “He’s not limited at all; I agree some dogs are limited, but there’s nothing that Trooper wants to do that he doesn’t do.”
Forman and her family have made it a special mission to take care of dogs who need special medicines, treatments, and living conditions, and they love that they get the opportunity to provide a great life to these dogs. She told me a little bit about what Trooper loves in his home life.
“He gets pork rinds as treats, since they are pure protein and help him build his muscles,” she explains. “He loves stuffed toys with squeakers in them, and he loves going for a ride in the car. He loves to play and roughhouse.”
Another fun fact about Trooper’s home: over the years, the dogs have been joined by no less than five parrots! It’s a full house, but the Formans love it.
“For the most part everyone gets along well and navigates the house great,” says Forman. “It’s just a lot of fun.”