An ode to Walkin' wheels
If you know me even a little bit, then you would know that I am slightly obsessed with my dogs. I have a lab-mix and a German Shepherd- both of whom are loves of my life. I had the honor of rescuing the both of them when they were puppies and they have changed and enriched my life.
This is a post about my German Shepherd, Buddy.
Perhaps in another post I will write about him in detail, but for this one, I'm going to focus on his hips. Buddy has had hip-dysplasia since he was a little puppy. But that has never stopped him from being the best dog ever. Before his hips got really bad, he used to run with me for miles. He would look up at me with his goofy-smile and he was loving it. He is so loyal, that he would run with me regardless of how tired he was- something that I learned the hard way. One day after our run, I noticed bloody prints on my floor. That was when I realized, that Buddy would literally go anywhere with me and do anything- without ever hesitating- even if he were injured. Of course after that, I was much more cautious when running with him.
When he was 5, his hip-dysplasia got worse and he was no longer able to run and even long walks meant limping the next day. So I decided to get him examined to hip-replacement surgery. The surgery was a success. And even though Buddy was completely unable to move his lower-body while he was in recovery, he still low-crawled across the floor to greet me when I would come home from work. Yes, Buddy's big heart and unconditional love made him low-crawl just to greet me 2 seconds sooner than it would take me to turn the corner to greet him. Words can't explain how that moment made me feel. He recovered well, but was still unable to run the way he did before. The Vet said that was a possibility, but what was important was that he could walk. I was happy, Buddy was happy.
He is now 9yrs old and hip-dysplasia and arthritis has made mobility a challenge. But he LOVES walks. I knew I had to do something. He is the love of my life after all. I did a ton of research and found the Walkin' Wheels- This is NOT a sponsored post. This is just one dog-mom trying to help other dog moms.
Walkin' Wheels have been a GODSEND! He ran for the first time in a long time and his goofy-smile was back! There is still more we have to do to get him fully-accustomed to the wheelchair, but he has never given up! I am not giving up on him!
