When Commander trots across the floor, it’s easy to forget how his story nearly met a different outcome, having suffered a devastating car accident. The gentle 92-pound, 17-month-old, bull mastiff-Rottweiler cross was struck and dragged by a vehicle in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, losing a leg and facing overwhelming odds.

For many dogs, that combination of trauma and cost would have meant euthanasia. Instead,  with a custom prosthetic because a community stepped in and because an organization exists to ensure medical decisions are guided by compassion, not a credit limit.