disabled dachshunds

Special Needs Pet Feature of the Week: Chickie

Posted by Barbara Techel


What is your pets name?

Chickie

How old is your pet?

Approximately 13yrs old

Where did you get your pet?

We took her out of a bad situation after a friend called us about her needing rescue.

What is your pets physical challenge?

IVDD. Her back legs are paralyzed and she requires a cart to be mobile. Chickie does have bowel control but requires her bladder to be expressed several times a day and is diagnosed with chronic UTI which we monitor daily. Chickie did not always have IVDD, it came on her one day and even though she had surgery she never got the use of her hind legs again.

What is your pets favorite thing to do?

She loves to ‘boogie’, that is the code word we ask her if she wants to get in her cart and join the others.

What is your pets favorite thing to eat?

Anything & everything! We are talking about a dachshund!

What do you love most about your pet?

I can get her all set up in the chair with me and she starts to look around the room for one of her toys and I have to get them all one at a time until she decides which one she wants. It’s usually one of the last ones I bring. I often tell her she is ‘a ghra mo chroi’, which is Irish for ‘love of my heart’


What has your pet most taught you?

Commitment. We knew we were going to do whatever we had to do to give Chickie a decent quality of life. We have also learned how intelligent they can be when worked with. Oh, also how to clean up poop.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Chickie actually named herself. When we first got her she would follow my wife around always wanting to be picked up and held. So one day BJ picked up Pepper and asked her if she was ‘my little chick-a-dee’? Well, she got all excited so BJ asked her again and the same reaction! So that name stuck and she has been Chickie ever since that day. Chickie is also one of many little ambassadors for Dodgerslist, a website and support group for people with pets that suffer from IVDD. We incorporate her cart into her costumes to bring attention to her disability and show that many handicapped pets can have a decent quality of life. Many people remember her and tell us they look forward to what costume she will be wearing each Halloween.


Keep on rollin’ Chickie!!

***If you care for a special needs pet and would like your pet featured, please email me through my website contact. Send a photo and I will forward the questionnaire for your pet to be featured in an upcoming post.***

Special Needs Pet Feature: Charlie

Posted by Barbara Techel

How old is your pet?

5

Where did you get your pet?

I lost my 10-year old long hair dachshund, Panama, to cancer in November 2005. My father bought Charlie for me in Mississippi in Jan. 2006 to help me get over the loss of Panama.

What is your pets physical challenge?

Charlie suffered three ruptured discs in his back the summer of 2010. He never regained use of his hind legs after back surgery. We did physcial therapy and he saw a doggie chiropractor for 3 months after surgery. We got him a custom wheelchair from Eddie’s Wheels. He can now go outside and enjoy life!

What is your pets favorite thing to eat?

When Charlie was in the animal hospital for 10-days he got spoiled to can food. I now have to mix canned food with is dry food or he will not eat. He also loves when we do take out from Outback! On my days off work I make him a scrambled egg with cheese. As most doxies, he loves to eat!

What do you love about your pet?

I love Charlie’s spirited soul! He has never let his physcial challenges keep him down. He is happy and loves life. Ove the holidays we visited relatives in Mississippi. My aunt and uncle have both recently battled cancer. My Uncle Wallace says that Charlie is an inspiration to him. That if Charlie can handle what he has been dealt with such spirit and love for life, he can also deal with his health issues.

What has your pet most taught you?

Charlie has taught me patience. After his accident, I did not know if I was up to the challenge of taking care of a disabled pet. I knew I had to learn, as putting him down was never an option for me. It has been a major life change, but so worth every minute.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Just that if you are ever faced with making a decision for a disabled pet, do your research first. There is so much information on the Internet to help pet owners learn how to take care of these pets. Dodgerslist was so helpful for me.

Thank you, Charlie’s Mom for sharing Charlie with us.  Wow, I could relate to everything you said!

***If you care for a special needs pet and would like your pet featured, please email me through my website contact. Send a photo and I will forward the questionnaire for your pet to be featured in an upcoming post.***