ivdd

Please Join Me Thursday, Dec. 20th as Asia Voight Interviews Me about the Many Blessings of Life with a Wheelchair Bound Dachshund

Posted by Barbara Techel

AsiaVoightMediapage2Asia Voight, Animal Communicator and Intuitive Life Guide and host of The Animal Code, as well as in-demand media guest having appeared on ABC, NBC, and CBS will interview me about my life with Frankie, and now Joie.

Episode Description

“The Many Blessings of a Wheelchair Bound Dachshund”

Discover the many blessings of pets with special needs through the lessons Barbara learned from her disabled dachshund, Frankie.

Join me and my guest, Barbara Techel, as we learn about the many lessons Frankie not only taught Barbara but the thousands of children she met during her school visits.  Also learn more about IVDD and how wheelchairs can help pets live long, happy, quality lives. We will also talk about the recent special day that Barbara has founded to carry on Frankie’s legacy which is National Walk ‘N Roll Dog Day.

When:  Thursday, December 20th, 2012 at Noon CST, 1:00pM EST, 10:00am PST

Where:  Online, so you can listen right from your computer.  Just click on the gray bar above our photos on the listen button to tune in live.

Why:  It is my mission to continue to shed a positive light on all special needs pets, with a special advocacy for dogs with Intervertebral Disc Disease and dogs in wheelchairs.

Sponsored by:

awakening_logo

Rolling Dog on a Mission Sculpture. Proceeds Benefit Dodgerslist & The Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted by Barbara Techel

sculpture

 

Earlier this month a friend who is a team member of Dodgerslist tagged me in a post about this “Rolling Dog on a Mission” sculpture.  The sculpture was for sale with the proceeds benefiting Dodgerslist to help continue educating others about IVDD. She mentioned in the post that she and the other Dodgerslist team members thought this really looked like Frankie.  Of course, that brought a tear to my eye.  As much as I wanted to purchase the sculpture, I had to watch my pennies right now. But was happy to share on my other Facebook pages so hopefully someone would purchase it.

The sculpture sold almost immediately!  About ten minutes later I received a message from another Facebook follower, Kim.  She needed me to send my mailing address to Grace Liesa, who made this lovely sculpture.  Well, I had my hunch that an angel was about to grace me with one of these sculptures.  Not only did I receive this sweet sculpture, but it is customized, which was a a total surprise. I was very, very touched and…. it gets even better!

frankie il_fullxfull.407663255_o8g6

After corresponding with Grace, I told her about National Walk ‘N Roll Dog Day inviting her to follow along on Facebook if she would like. I shared with her my mission of helping raise funds  for families in financial stress or dogs in rescue who may need a wheelchair and that to date we had helped eight small dogs.

The surprise then got even better as Grace told me she would donate 10% of sales from the sculpture’s not only to Dodgerslist, but also to The Frankie Wheelchair Fund.  She will also donate all the proceeds of one of the sculpture’s to The Frankie Wheelchair Fund sometime in 2013.  So stay tuned for that!

You can order one today though if you’d like.  Grace will customize it for you. Be sure to visit her Etsy shop for all the details.  And if you don’t personally have a dachshund with IVDD, but know of a friend who does, what a great gift it would make.

I can’t thank Kim enough for her big heart in giving me this special gift. It has a special place on Frankie’s altar.  Also, what a wonderful thing Grace is doing to make a difference and I especially love what she says about downed dachshund’s on her Etsy website:

Remember that a disabled dog is not aware of their limitations; they just continue to live their lives as any normal dog would. It is our responsibility to give them a life full of quality, fun, and love. IVDD is not a death sentence, it’s just a bump on the road. With proper care and nutrition, a ‘down’ dog can live through their life expectancy just as a normal dog would. It’s never too early to learn about IVDD. Go to www.dodgerslist.com for a wealth of information, referrals, support, and success stories.

Meet Two More Recipients of The Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted by Barbara Techel

Mammabean

I don’t know a lot about Mammabean, but I do know she lives in Zambia, Africa.  She had so many people who helped to get her the wheelchair and the distance it had to travel. Wow!   Looks like Mammabean will continue to live a happy life and that makes my heart sing.

Crystal

Facebook friend and Frankie and Joie fan, Cheryl Turner, was a huge help in being a wonderful resource for Crystal’s family leading them to the Frankie Wheelchair Fund and Eddie’s Wheels.  Here is what she emailed me about Crystal and her situation so I could share with all of you:

Crystal belongs to a lady that takes care of her sister and her mother.  Her sister is in a wheelchair secondary to cerebral palsey, and her mother is in a chair because of her age, I believe. Clearly this lady has a lot on her plate. The owner and the two chair bound women get a lot of pleasure playing with little Crystal. Crystal has both bladder and bowel control. Her owner was carrying her outside to potty several times a day, but otherwise she spent all day on a ‘Dora the explorer’ baby mattress. She has been unable to walk for about 4 months. She has weakening in her front legs from being immobile, however, with a little support under her tummy and some strengthening over time, it looks like she will be in great shape. Her tail told the entire story ! 

Her tail indeed does tell the whole story!  Click on this link to see Crystal learning to walk in her wheels, crystal2 movie

Please  join me in wishing Mammabean and Crystal the very best as she learns to live a full, happy, quality life in her Eddie’s Wheels wheelchair.

If you are interested in helping with our efforts to help dogs in need of wheelchairs (those in rescue or families in financial stress) please visit National Walk ‘N Roll Dog website where we have an on going Chip In set up.  As of this post today our funds are getting low and we can possibly help one more dog.  Later next summer I hope to do another fundraiser which I’ll announce here when I do.  But this fund is also a wonderful way in which to honor or memorialize your pet or a pet you may know.  I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped in donations to help the dogs we have. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Feel free to also join us on Facebook where we recently hit over 1,000 followers!