WHEELS FOR PETS

INSPIRATION When Tammie Fox volunteered to foster a pet from an animal rescue organization in Lincoln, United Kingdom, she hadn’t planned to adopt one. But then she fell in love with a West Highland Terrier who dragged her hind legs.

- Patricia Karounos

After Fox brought Pumpkin home, tests confirmed that the now two-year old pup was paralyzed, likely the result of abuse. To help her move around, Pumpkin was fitted for a little wheelchair from U.K.-based distributor Wheels 4 dogs, which sells other mobility aids. Today, Pumpkin is a happy diva” who doesn’t let anything slow her down— and now, her owner is helping other disabled to animals achieve the same.

Last year, Fox started Pumpkin and Friends Charity to help provide wheelchairs and funding for medical procedures to families with special-needs pets. Through fundraising events, such as annual Dog Walks, Fox has raised around 73,000.

The cost of pet wheelchairs can be prohibitive. For example, at one U.K. retailer rear-leg chairs cost more than 700. So far, the charity has helped nearly 350 dogs. It has even helped one goat and one sheep.

“A disability isn’t a death sentence for a pet,’ Fox says. It’s so rewarding to see an animal get its life back.”

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