Unwavering Spirit: The Inspiring Journey of an Elderly Disabled Dog on Wheels
Boxer dog Rex and guinea pig Smores are great friends. Smores prefers to hang out in a pink basket that is linked to Rex’s wheelchair, an elderly canine who uses a wheelchair.
Smores, Rex’s human mother Holly Walthers, who also runs the Vail Doggie Day Spa & Lodging in Avon, Colorado, said:
“People constantly want to know if Smores attempts to jump out of his wagon all the time.”
“She hasn’t even tried. She absolutely adores him, and where he goes, she goes too.”
However, their lives were extremely different before they became close friends. Degenerative myelopathy, a form of spinal illness that over time paralyzes a dog’s rear legs, was discovered in Rex when he was 10 years old and living on the streets of Orange County, California in October 2015.
Rex was a homeless dog that was put on the death list in a shelter, but a group of animal lovers in California took action to locate a rescue facility that could take care of a canine with specific requirements.
Holly’s rescue organization then got in touch with Leo Puppy Mill Survivor ( named after her late dog Leo, who was rescued from a puppy mill and died of cancer in 2014).
Says Holly
Rex was still able to use his rear legs when he arrived, although he was a little unsteady.
Sadly, as degenerative myelopathy advanced after January 2016, Rex was no longer able to walk.
It is heartwarming to see the bond between two animals, especially when they overcome physical challenges together. In this case, the older dog is in a wheelchair due to a spinal injury, but that does not stop him from living life to the fullest. His best friend is a younger dog who accompanies him everywhere, and the two are inseparable.
The owner of the dogs says that the younger dog has always been protective of the older dog, and when the older dog was injured and needed a wheelchair, the younger dog took on the role of caregiver. The two are often seen playing and running around together, with the younger dog pushing the older dog’s wheelchair.