Being free to move as you please is a feeling that is simply priceless.
But Turbo, a 3-month-old mini horse, never understood what that was like until the folks at Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary gave him a sweet new set of wheels.
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Turbo was born with a congenital defect, two luxating patellae, which left him with very limited mobility in his back two legs.
This caused the sweet mini horse to walk in a hunched manner forcing all of his weight on his front legs.
Turbo’s owners contacted Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary (R2RAS) of North Haven, Connecticut for help.
The non-profit organization was started by Megan Pereira who got tired of seeing so many farm animals euthanized while working as an animal vet tech.
Her sanctuary gives them a place where they could live out their days.
“I lean towards the special needs ones, the broken ones, the really medical intensive cases,” Megan told Walkin’ Pets.
Megan had helped out a goat named Peaches who got around with a wheelchair, so she figured she could help Turbo and took him in.
After learning about Turbo’s story, the New Hampshire-based Walkin’ Pets mobility company decided to donate a wheelchair for Turbo.
Turbo wasn’t even strapped in before he took off running before they even had him fully strapped into his new wheelchair.
“Seeing Turbo ‘walk’ before any assistance and dragging his legs, to being in his cart – I almost started crying. I am not a crier, but I almost started crying. He was running, bucking – it was all very exciting,” said Megan.
Seeing this tiny horse gallop along in his wheelchair just brings joy to your heart.
He has an entirely different spirit about him when he’s moving along in that wheelchair.
It’s a definite spirit of joy. Megan hopes that Turbo’s story will encourage others to rescue animals with special needs.
“It’s definitely a road worth traveling – they really make a special place in your heart,” Megan said.
But Turbo needed more help than he could get from a wheelchair.
The mini horse, who Megan refers to as her “unicorn,” also needed surgery on his legs.
“My sweet little unicorn is out of surgery. He had surgery yesterday on his first leg, and today he had his second leg done & is doing very well post-op. As always, with any surgery, there is a risk of post-op complications. He is nowhere out of the woods yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic!” she wrote on Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary’s Facebook page.
The non-profit is hoping that people will donate to help cover the costs of his surgery. Donations can be made here and will go toward funding Turbos’s surgery and helping the other animals at Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary.
The sanctuary, which rests on 10 acres of land, has so far rescued 70 animals since 2020.
Learn more about Road to Refuge Animal Sanctuary at roadtorefugeanimalsanctuary.com.
Watch Turbo take his first happy steps in his wheelchair in the video below.
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