Dumped, alone, and afraid – the start to little Gracie’s life was not a pleasant one. She came into this world unwanted because of a simple birth defect. Her ‘family’ abandoned her at a vet office after they discovered her deformity.
When her rescuers received her, she was not in a good state: the fur below her eyes was missing and she was covered in insects. She was also missing patches of fur on her little paws and tail.
Gracie was born with a rare genetic defect in which she did not develop two of her legs. Her rescuers knew that she was in for a tough life and feared the worst until they reached out to a local rescue shelter, Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue, who were able to find her a forever home.
The start to a better life
Gracie received her second chance at a better life once the Turley family adopted her. But the Turley’s are not just any ordinary family. They are also the owners of Mostly Mutts and have dedicated much of their time to assisting animals with special needs.
For Gracie, they were the perfect option.
These days, Gracie is full of life and is always ready to play with her new fur-brother and fur-sister. The Turleys own two other special needs pups: a little boy whose hind legs are paralyzed and a little girl with only three legs. Together, they still manage to play, and hop, along together.
The Turley’s adored Gracie but were concerned for her well-being. As a puppy, she was still too young to qualify for wheelchair fitting, but the Turleys were concerned that Gracie would injure herself or that her spine would become misaligned if she didn’t have a wheelchair.
Gracie gets her training wheels
Because Gracie was still going to grow quite a lot before reaching maturity, she needed an innovative solution to help her condition.
It was at this point that Dylan Shervin, a 12-year-old volunteer at the shelter, came up with a brilliant idea to improve Gracie’s quality of life. Dylan was going to design a special wheelchair made out of Legos for Gracie.
After a week, Dylan had successfully constructed a Lego wheelchair that is both flexible and adjustable to accommodate Gracie’s growth. At first, Gracie was hesitant about the contraption but soon became comfortable with it – after being coaxed with a hotdog or two!
Gracie loved her wheelchair and was soon zooming all over in it. She soon outgrew the first model which led Dylan to design a new one that could lift her up higher. But this model required larger wheels, so Dylan made some design alterations and made her the third wheelchair.
Gracie gets her real wheels
Once Gracie reached a year old, she was able to get a real custom wheelchair made. Thanks to Joey Paws and Ruff Rollin Chairs, she now has her permanent wheelchair.
While Gracie can still move around without her spiffy new wheels, the specially designed wheelchair protects her chest and spine from injury.
Dylan might just have to be our latest hero. His creativity and ingenuity led to a happy puppyhood for one very special dog who more than deserved it.
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