Raising and caring for a disabled dog can often be a challenge. They may require additional assistance that fully abled dogs don’t. However, the reward of seeing these disadvantaged pups thrive and enjoy life in spite of their disabilities is extremely powerful.
A few wonderful people in Georgia would be glad to tell you how great it felt to help an abandoned two-legged puppy overcome her challenge.
That puppy’s name is Gracie, and she was dropped off at a veterinarian’s office in Kennesaw, Georgia covered in maggots. A birth defect left her without her two front legs. She had a really rough go of it from the start.
The vet reached out to local rescue Mostly Mutts for help, having worked with them before.
It wasn’t long before Tammy Turley, Executive Director of Mostly Mutts, fell in love with Gracie and decided to bring her home.
The Turley family already has a disabled pup and Gracie makes two. A third dog in the home has only three legs.
Gracie was able to hop around using her back legs, but her family wanted a more sustainable method of transportation of her. They worried that hopping around could lead to health consequences later.
Since Gracie was just a tiny growing puppy, she was too little to be fitted for a wheelchair. Still, her parents wanted her to be able to explore and enjoy a little independence. They needed to devise a way for her to get around on her own.
A 12-year-old volunteer with Mostly Mutts named Dylan provided the solution. He got a chance to flex his building muscles and provide support for a puppy with a disadvantage.
The answer was a mobility chair built out of Legos. The flexibility of the building blocks allowed easy adjustment as Gracie continued to grow.
Most importantly, Gracie could travel around on her own now. She could use her back legs to push herself forward. Her newfound mobility gave her the confidence to enjoy life as a puppy no matter how many legs she was born with.
In her little Lego chair, Gracie was able to play with her canine siblings as she continued to grow. She did end up outgrowing her first Lego chair, and a taller one was built with larger wheels for her.
Now that she’s over a year old and done growing, she does have a new non-Lego forever chair, but it was the Turley family’s love and Dylan’s innovation that got her here.
You can support Mostly Mutts and the important work they’re doing every day here.
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Featured Image: @gracie.turley22/Facebook
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via Whisker Therapy