The heartwarming moment a disabled dog finds a special burst of energy to drag herself to greet Air Force owner returning from Afghanistan

Pit-bull mix Emma has a combination of conditions that mean her front legs are bowed out and her hind legs are essentially useless

That still didn't stop her from rushing to welcome home her owner from Afghanistan

A one-year-old pit-bull mix called Emma struggles daily with a bone-wasting disease that has severely limited her movement - but even that couldn’t stop her when her owner recently returned from a tour of duty.



Emma is one of three dogs that belong to Melissa Swanson and her husband, who is an airman who has recently been servicing a six-month stretch in Afghanistan.



As this heart-warming video shows, while the other dogs, Mikey and Jesse, race to greet their owner, Emma is left trailing in third place. However that doesn't prevent her from moving as quickly as she can with only her front paws to propel her.

Pit-bull mix Emma struggles daily with a bone-wasting disease that severely limits her movement

Emma suffers from a combination of conditions which mean her front legs are bowed out and her hind legs are essentially useless, but that didn't stop her rushing to greet her master



Emma suffers from a congenital vertebrae anomaly called hemivertebrae, as well as a neurological disorder similar to cerebral palsy. Her combined conditions mean her front legs are bowed out and her hind legs are essentially useless.



Initially Emma struggles to get a look-in as the other able-bodied dogs muscle her out of the way for their owner’s attention.

Yet as the footage shows she still makes it to the front door and is determined not to be left out of the welcome home celebrations. She even earns a lift and a cuddle from her owners for all her hard work.



‘Emma and her daddy were very close! It broke her heart when he left,' wrote Melissa.



The able-bodied dogs beat Emma to the door, but she earns a lift and cuddle for all her hard work



Under the terms of Emma's adoption, Melissa and her husband can keep her for life with SNARR promising to pay her on-going medical bills

'When I come in the door, she normally sits at the end of the hallway and waits for me to pick her up. This time, when her daddy came in, she went to him! Mikey (the tan dog) was so happy he cried! Gotta love homecomings!!’

Melissa and her husband are long-term foster parents for SNARR, which stands for Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation.

Despite several attempts, Emma hasn’t yet found a doggy wheelchair that she is comfortable with due to her front legs not being powerful enough to help carry her weight. Her owners are hopeful that will change in the near future.



Under the terms of Emma’s adoption, Melissa and her husband can keep her for life with SNARR promising to pay for her on-going medical bills which can be expensive.



If you want to check out more about SNARR or help donate to Emma's medical bills, please check out their website , meanwhile Emma even has her own Facebook page if you wanna read more about her and see more videos.

Emma even has her own Facebook page

Emma hasn¿t yet found a doggy wheelchair that she is comfortable with due to her front legs not being powerful enough to help carry her weight

If you want to check out more about SNARR or help donate to Emma's medical bills, please check out their website













