"ZANFORD" a.k.a. "Z", "Longboy"
Ebnet's Zanford Longboy
DOB: 6-26-2002
Zanford was four months old when we met him. He was living with Lisa Ebnet, his breeder, while she was looking for just the right home for him. Zanford was born with an underdeveloped ulna bone in his front left leg. The short section of ulna is fused to the radius and so his leg is permanently bent and he walks on his other three legs. We call it his goofy foot, and Tom refers to it as his “factory option”. Zanford has never known life any other way and doesn’t feel sorry for himself. He takes life as it comes and is a very happy dog.
The time when we met him he was playing with another boy at Lisa’s, Yaro, and the following morning it was discovered that the two of them had played on the hot tub cover and chewed it up. The two boys were getting themselves into a fair amount of trouble, both being young pups, and so Tom said we’d take Zanford (then known as Hanford) home and give Lisa a break.
For a while we tried to find a family that maybe had a child with a handicap, one that would like a dog to love and feel like they weren’t the only handicapped one around. But in calling the hospitals that have pediatrics and the Shriners I ran into dead ends. Lisa wasn’t having any better luck and we were getting attached to him. So one day Lisa and Tom exchanged paperwork and Zanford became ours.
Just six months younger then Calli, the two were best friends and playmates. Along with Porter the three of them would romp all day. Zanford knows he can’t run as long and hard as the other dogs but he’ll lay and play tug with them. They sense what he can and can’t do and they’ll come up to him to snuggle, play tug or to enjoy the flea biting he likes to do to them. The girls seem to really enjoy his flea biting and Mia will even playfully bat him if he stops too soon.
When running at full speed, you can’t tell which dog is Zanford, his gait smoothes out and he looks likes all the other dogs.
Zanford has found many uses for his goofy foot. He can shake with it, he uses it to hold treats and bones, it’s a great assistant when going upstairs after a long day and he leans it on the edge of the tub while being bathed. He’s found the best use for his goofy foot is to hook you around your thigh so you can pet him while he leans against you!
Due to his limited mobility, Zanford hasn’t ever competed in any dog sports but he likes to come along with the other dogs and socialize.