Shelter dog on the move again with help of donated wheelchair

Rex, believed to be 8 or 9 years old, is still getting used to his new wheelchair. Occasionally, the friendly mutt will simply plop down for a quick rest before getting back to a game of fetch with shelter volunteers. OCEAN CITY TODAY/CHRISTINE CULLEN (May 28, 2010) Just weeks ago, Rex was sad, depressed and unable to walk on his own. Thanks to the generosity of Virginia couple, Rex is happy again and can get around with the use of his special wheelchair.

Rex is a shelter dog at the Worcester County Humane Society in West Ocean City. The pitbull/Labrador retriever mix, who Director Kenille Davies believes is around 8 or 9 years old, had an injury that prevented him from using his back legs. When surgery didn’t help, the wheels were the only answer.

“We had taken him to different veterinarians because he was limping and everyone just thought it was arthritis in his leg. Then one day he could hardly get that one hip up,” Davies said.

Rex had been at the Humane Society for about four years, and it has become his home. With the help of donations from the community, the worried staff took him to specialized veterinarians in Virginia and Annapolis.

An MRI revealed that Rex had a slipped disc in his back that was pressing against his spinal cord and cutting off the nerves leading to his hind legs, Davies said. Rex went in for surgery in September to remove the disc and relieve the pressure on his spine, with the hope that he would regain the movement in his legs.

“The vet had been doing physical therapy, both before and after the surgery. He never really gained the complete use of those back legs after the surgery,” Davies said.

Six months after the surgery, Rex could still not use his hind legs. Davies said he became visibly depressed because he was unable to walk on his own, move around without help or play with the other dogs at the shelter.

The volunteers at the shelter had grown especially fond of Rex in the years he had lived there, and they wanted to do something to give him his life back. Meggin Nicholson decided to feature Rex on the shelter’s Web site on Petfinder.com, with pictures of the pooch and a little piece on his story.

On the Web site, the shelter volunteers asked for help to purchase a canine wheelchair for Rex, because the veterinarian in Annapolis who did his surgery and therapy offered to help get one custom made. Right away, Davies said emails of support began coming in.

“Two of our supporters from Virginia, who also have a home in Berlin, offered to pay for a cart if we got one,” she said. “They’re very lovely people who were kind enough to buy the cart for us.”

The veterinarian came to Worcester County and fitted Rex for the wheelchair, a contraption with two wheels and a sling to hold his back legs with bars that attach around his stomach. Davies said they decided on an adjustable wheelchair so the shelter could use it on other dogs in the future if needed.

The shelter purchased the $499 set of doggie wheels and the gracious couple reimbursed the cost. Rex got his first chance to test out his new wheels less than two weeks ago, and he has been in heaven ever since.

“It’s cute to see him in it. He just takes off in it. He’s doing pretty good with it. I think he really enjoys it. He chases the ball and runs around again and he just stops when he gets tired,” Davies said.

Rex can only use the wheels for a short period because it is somewhat heavy to pull around and he is still adjusting to the device. It takes two people to get him hooked in, and the volunteers try to put him in three times a day to have his fun and exercise.