Woman Who Lost Arms In Dog Attack Focus Of Fundraiser

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Rachele Miller lost the use of both of her arms in 2023, when she was savagely attacked by the family dog.

“I could feel him pull my arm out of the socket at the elbow,” the 49-year-old Fredericksburg woman said, on Thursday, “Then, I reached up and tried to start hitting him with my right hand and he tore that arm out. ... Had my son not come in, I don't think I'd be here today.”

Ever since the horrific attack, Miller has had to relearn how to live without arms, relying on her friend Conner Moreland and brother Danny Miller for help.

“'He’s my hero,” she said, of her brother. “He's got me an electric toothbrush. He has put straws in the mouthwash. He put foot pedals on the door to where I can get into the bathroom. I can open it. He's done so much for me.”

Although Rachele Miller’s insurance company initially agreed to cover the cost of the bilateral body-powered prosthetic limbs that had been fitted for her, the policy changed and the company refused her coverage.

Elisabeth Foley, a Virginia mother who lost her arm last year in a Florida shark attack, recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to help Rachele Miller get the prosthetics and the therapy to learn how to use them.

“Elisabeth is my angel,” Rachele Miller said. “She’s a good Samaritan that I've met through the prosthetics company.”

As of 12 noon on Friday, Help Rachele Unlock Her Prosthetics has raised just over $2,700, which is about 11 percent of the GoFundMe campaign's goal of $24,000.

“You can't feel it through the prosthetic, but I haven't been able to give my kids a hug,” Rachele Miller said. “I can't feel that. You depend so much when you use your hands. When it happened, I had to learn how to do everything again."