A puppy named Gracie had a rough start in her life. When she was born, her owners decided to mercilessly dump her without even giving it a second thought. The reason why she was deemed so unnecessary was a birth defect which caused her to be born without front legs. When the disabled puppy made her way into a vets office, she had no hair around her eyes and maggots crawling all over her. However, the puppy refused to give up on life and neither did the kindhearted people who rescued her.
Gracie was adopted by the Turney family that runs an animal shelter. Being the owners of one paralyzed dog and another who’s missing a limb, they are very familiar with raising a disabled pet.
The only worry the family had was how to improve Gracie’s mobility. The rapidly growing puppy was not eligible for a wheelchair fitting just yet and needed an easy solution that she could grow out of.
Luckily, 12-year-old Dylan came to the rescue. The boy crafted a makeshift wheelchair out of Legos.
This type of wheelchair was perfect—relatively cheap and easily readjustable according to the changes of a growing puppy.
It took a couple of weeks, but Gracie finally got used to using the wheels to move around.
With some practice, she started walking and running around with ease.
After she had grown a bit, the wheelchair was improved by adding bigger wheels.
When she finally became old enough, she was fitted with an ‘adult’ wheelchair.
With the help of her owners, including Dylan, Gracie has been leading a healthy and joyful life since she was a puppy!
