Meet "Stitches."
"He lifts your mood just watching his behavior and seeing how silly he can be," explains owner Tracy Amonette.
Stitches is a minature donkey.
Patient with kids and kind with strangers.
Nine-year-old Elijah Heare agrees, "He's a great friend and he's really nice."
But, the 15-year-old donkey hasn't always had a reason to smile.
Explains caregiver Walter Nelson, "His hoof got injured in a door and we had to remove most of his hoof."
The amputation left Stitches with one leg several inches shorter than the others, making it tough to get around.
That's when people started getting creative, looking at options to help the little guy.
But they didn't work.
"We had trouble maintaining the prosthetic. It had a zipper, it was leather, it was heavier," explains Nelson.
That's when Virginia Prosthetics got involved.
"This is the strength, this is the prosthetis I'm putting on itself, this goes on like so," explains Prosthetist Sidney Nicely as he demonstrates.
Like all their other patients, Stitches was fitted, a cast made and plastic shaped to fit just right.
But unlike those other patients, more than a passing thought was given on how to get it on him.
"He's been very cooperate, he stands as still as can be," laughs Nicely.
Stitches has had his prosthetic for the last several month.
While his walk may never be as natural as it once was, it seems to be keeping him in "step" and making a difference.
"The care's a bit easier than the old one, but also it's nice that it's as comfortable as we can make it for him, so that's an improvement," says Nelson.
Another benefit, the new prosthetic is more hygenic.
And, this isn't the first animal prosthetic Virginia Prosthetics has made.
They've also made a prosthetic for a pig, who was apparently a little tougher to deal with.
