Boy whose legs were amputated meets golden retriever that lost all four limbs

A boy who has had both his legs amputated has found a kindred spirit in a dog with four prosthetic legs.

Owen Mahan of Pittsboro, Indiana suffered a serious accident when he was just two years old. The boy fell into a bathtub filled with scalding hot water and suffered second and third-degree burns over 98 per cent of his body, The Indy Star reports.

Doctors said he would never walk, talk or ride a bike again. But since then, he’s managed all three.

The 10-year-old knew he wanted to meet Chi Chi the moment he saw her on Facebook, The Independent reports.

The famed three-year-old golden retriever and certified service dog has also worked through tragedy of her own.

Chi Chi was found in a garbage bag in South Korea in 2016. Her legs had rotted from mistreatment and abuse. But now she travels to hospitals, schools and other facilities wearing four booties on her stumped limbs.

Her owner, Elizabeth Howell, posts photos for the pooch online.

Ms Howell learned Owen was a big fan of Chi Chi and worked with friends of the Mahan family to fly him and his adoptive mother to visit the pooch in Arizona.

Ms Mahan told WCNC Owen had “no clue what we were doing” and just thought they were “delivering a package”.

But the pair instantly clicked. Pictures shared on the Chi Chi Rescue Dog Facebook page show Owen and the pooch snuggling. He’s also seen taking her for a walk on a lead.

Doctors are still replacing the skin on Owen’s body eight years on from his accident. Ms Mahan said he will have two surgeries a year until he stops growing.

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But his new pal Chi Chi was a source of inspiration for him and the pair are similar in their outlook on life, she said.

“Every picture I see of her she looks like she’s smiling,” she said.

“Owen is the same way. He comes out of surgery smiling, so they’re both smiling and they’re both like ‘So something bad happened to me, let’s just move on’.”