3-legged pit bull hoping to help other rescue dogs in Oklahoma through contest

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma pit bull that is defying the odds is now in a competition to help other animals in need.

When he was just 4-months-old, Petey was hit by a car and left to die on the side of the road in Chandler. Although he suffered multiple traumatic injuries, veterinarians realized his left rear leg suffered the most damage.

Petey suffered fractures to his pelvis, ribs and tail, but his left rear leg had to be amputated.

Despite all the injuries, rescuers say Petey never lost his happy disposition and love for people.

Although Dena Newlun didn't want another dog after just losing her first therapy dog, she said there was something special about him.

"He was just a 4-month-old broken puppy. I was a woman with a broken heart. The rest is history. I took him home that day and together we rescued each other," Newlun told News 4 in an email.

He was adopted and continued to spread love to everyone around him.

His owner, Dena Newlun, says that Petey has been a bright spot in the house. Even though he may look like a tough dog, he raised "his" kitten from the time it was just 6-weeks-old.

Petey soon became a Canine Good Citizen at 13-months-old, and became a registered therapy dog with Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Now, Petey spends his days visiting hospital patients throughout the metro, along with veterans and hospice patients.

In addition to helping change the stigma around pit bulls, Petey is also trying to help other animals in need.

He is currently in the running for the Pibbafori Hometown contest. Pibbafori is a toy company that designs children's toys after real-life rescue dogs.

"When Petey's forever-family submitted him for entry, we took one look at his story and were overcome with emotion," Darrin Wilson, Dog-Person-In-Chief of Pibborafi Inc., told KFOR in an email.

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@Tripod_Petey At approximately four months old, Petey was crushed by a car and left to die on the side of the road in rural Oklahoma. He had multiple traumatic injuries, but his left rear leg was the most visibly damaged. His leg was not salvageable. It was discovered that his pelvis, rib, and tail all had breaks and fractures with massive amounts of soft tissue damage. During all of this, he never lost his joy and happy disposition. Petey loves everyone. He has raised HIS kitten ( named Logan, aka. The Floof ) from a tiny 6 week old baby. He became a Canine Good Citizen at 13 mths old, and then a certified & registered therapy dog with Alliance of Therapy Dogs at only 17 months. Petey was the only therapy dog selected as a nominee from Oklahoma for American Humane's 2019 Hero Dog of the Year Award. Petey visits 3 large hospitals in the Oklahoma Metro area and also visits with Veterans and hospice patients. Petey is an amazing Ambassador for rescue pets, pitbull type dogs, and specially-abled animals. ---- ANY nominee who would like their baby featured before voting begins just has to share our post encouraging fans to follow Pibborafi or create their own post to do the same before voting begins! If you've done that, please send your rescue stories to 'pibbselections (at) gmail (dot) com.' #pibbpickmypup #disableddogs

A post shared by Pibborafi (@pibborafi) on May 15, 2019 at 9:37am PDT

Participants in the Hometown contest are vying for votes on Instagram to become the next toy sensation. The winning dog will have a toy designed in their likeness, and a shipment of the toys will be donated to a rescue of the winner's choice. The rescues will then be able to sell the toys in order to raise funds to help other rescue dogs in their care.

In Petey's case, the toys will be given to Oklahoma Alliance for Animals.

In order to vote for Petey, you must follow Pibbafori on Instagram, like the voting post and then comment with the words "Pitbull dog, @tripod_petey."

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'Like' this post first. Then leave a comment listing the breed, name, and Instagram handle, of the pup you choose. For example; a male pitbull named Rover who has an Instagram account called "instagram.com/rover" would be nominated as "pitbull Rover @rover". Winner of Hometown will be announced on June 29, 2019 on both Instagram and the Pibborafi website. Winner will be contacted through Instagram messaging, so keep an eye on your account inbox! Comment with any questions, if you have any. :) #pibbpickmypup

A post shared by Pibborafi (@pibborafi) on May 29, 2019 at 3:25am PDT

Voting ends June 14 and the winner will be announced two weeks later.

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Make sure to pay attention to the rules! Good luck everyone! #pibbpickmypup

A post shared by Pibborafi (@pibborafi) on May 29, 2019 at 8:10am PDT