007847
Public Lecture
"The U.S. and
Europe During
and After the
Cold War"
• • •
Admiral Stansfield Turner
Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 1977-81
• • •
Thursday, November 4th
7:30 p.m.
• • •
Heritage Hall
Bowerman Family Building
University of Oregon
Find Fun
Celebrity dog an inspiration
■ Local dog and owner
travel to area hospitals to
share their story of
overcoming obstacles
By Jeremy Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
There’s an old Hollywood
proverb that says you can never
upstage a dog.
Eugene resident John Weaver
knows first hand how true that is.
His dog, Kuma, is a three-legged
canine celebrity that is charming
students on campus while he lives
in Eugene.
That’s right. Three legs — and
one prosthetic limb.
Six years ago, a cement truck
ran over Kuma’s hind leg. Instead
of having the dog put to sleep,
Weaver convinced veterinarians
to amputate the leg.
After the amputation, Weaver
designed a prosthetic limb for the
dog out of a plastic antifreeze bot
tle, a table leg and a rubber stopper.
Kuma quickly took to the idea of
having a prosthetic leg and could
soon lay down, sit up and run al
most as fast as he could before.
Weaver has since designed a new
prosthesis out of titanium and alu
minum with a shock absorber.
He soon came up with the idea
that physically disabled children
might want to see how this dog
could do everything a four-legged
dog can.
“I’ve always lived in the mo
ment. And I’ll put every cent I’ve
got into Kuma after I’ve seen him
go into hospitals and motivate
kids to go through therapy and
succeed. I’ll risk everything for
that reason,” he said.
Weaver has also taken Kuma to
schools throughout Oregon. Bob
Rubinstein, a teacher at Roosevelt
Middle School invited Weaver
and Kuma to his seventh and
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graduate education with value in the global community. Students interested in
pursuing a graduate degree right out of college can obtain a Master of Business
Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of Arts
in Diplomacy and Military Studies, Master of Arts in Management, Master of Arts
in Organizational Change, Master of Arts in Human Resource Management, or a
Master of Science in Nursing.
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Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Eugene resident John Weaver pets Kuma, his three-legged dog. The white akita lost its
leg to a truck six years ago and has since had a prosthetic limb installed.
eighth grade “Wild and Tame”
class, which covers both wildlife
and pet care.
“The kids seemed really interest
ed in the fact that an animal can live
with an artificial limb,” Rubinstein
said. “They’ve seen people with ar
tificial limbs, but never a dog.”
Weaver said he also wants to
take Kuma to Sacred Heart Med
ical Center, but he said he has
been very busy trying to raise
money to cover the pressing costs
of day-to-day expenses.
Weaver’s currently looking for
volunteers to improve the Kuma
Web site, where people can buy
Kuma merchandise, such as T
shirts, coloring books or posters.
Carol Titus, a member of the Eu
gene Kennel Club, said that in
Japan Kuma’s breed, a Japanese
white akita, is considered a na
tional treasure.
“They typically belong to
palace royalty and were protected
from being exported out of Japan
for a period of time,” Titus said.
Weaver said he hopes to even
tually find a private investor and
manufacture the prosthetic limb
he designed for Kuma for veteri
nary clinics.
Weaver added that Kuma is cur
rently looking for a girlfriend.
“We hope to breed him and
make a family. In the meantime,
we’ll survive,” he said.
You can learn more about
Kuma at www.kumabear.com.
005330