Four years ago, a tiny puppy named Hunter was born inside a Montreal animal rescue. His mother was rescued as a pregnant stray just a week before giving birth.

Hunter was born with an underdeveloped right leg. Because of his deformity, it was nearly impossible for him to fight through his siblings to nurse. To up his chances for survival, the rescue team made the decision to separate him at four days old, and have a foster mom raise him by hand.

Because of his size, deformity, and extreme hunger, it would be a miracle if he even survived. But his foster mom was determined to fight for his life, as long as he would keep fighting for himself.

Raising Hunter was an around-the-clock job. The bottle feeding. The bandage changing. Hydrotherapy. Antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids to re-gain his hydration. “My days felt like nights, and nights like days,” she said. “He took over my life, anywhere I went he had to come with. If I had errands to do, I only had two-hour leeways. He came to work with me, to long rescue events on weekends… he became an extension of me.”

By week two, Hunter’s eyes began to open. He started to crawl. He started eating on his own. He cried a lot, frustrated by not understanding what was holding him back. But little by little, Hunter came out of his shell. He grew bigger, stronger, and more playful. Soon, he was fearless. This all led up to the dreaded eighth week, when Hunter underwent his amputation to remove what was left of his infected leg. Foster Mom had nightmares about the surgery, but she knew Hunter would die without it.

Surgery was a success. Defeating odds, yet again.

Two weeks later, Hunter was adopted by his forever family. His foster mom was devastated to say goodbye, but knows she loved him enough to know he was off to a better life than what she could provide. “There will always be more rescues, but I dream of the day pet owners will become responsible and no more puppies (or any animal) like him will need our help.”

Watch Hunter’s miraculous journey to happiness below, and please SHARE this powerful story with your friends on Facebook!