Today we are excited to be able to share Blizzard and Pheonix’s story with you all!
From the Words of their Family:
We weren’t looking to adopt a wheelie dog, let alone TWO! However, here we are on Blizzard’s 1-year adopt-a-versary, reflecting on how our wheelie journey began…
My wife had wanted to adopt a dog for a while, but I wasn’t ready. At that time, my whole life revolved around Frankie, my soul mate who happened to be a rat:). Frankie then passed away, which was a devastating tragedy, but in her honour, Frankie’s World Rescue was born, a place where the misfits belong. Frankie was odd and quirky, rescued from a terrible home.I wanted to start dedicating my life to more Frankies’, helping as many special needs animals as I could. I’ve always had the tradition of honouring the life of one of my animals that has passed by rescuing another, so there we went, making time to dedicate to all the rats we could handle, a dog or two, and whatever other critters crossed our path.
Blizzard and Phoenix are both paraplegic, living in Parry Sound Ontario, far away from their original homes. Blizzard was born on the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal. He lived there until being found after being hit by a car, where he was caught, and ultimately brought to Canada by Full Circle Rescue in Toronto. He was a feisty one, found very injured and sick by a local who wanted to help. Many people tried, and many days were spent trying to catch him. Efforts seemed futile and someone gave it one last shot before giving up, and somehow they got him. He was in very rough shape, malnourished, urinary tract infection, ear infection, and severe infected drag wounds on his legs that exposed bone. Discussions of euthanasia were had, as were his chances and quality of life both in Nepal and upon arrival to Canada. Despite the odds, he was given a chance, got placed in an amazing foster home where he got treatment for his many health issues, and met another disabled dog, Zeyda, who showed him the ropes of what it’s like to be a dog in Canada, and how to use wheels! He learned so quickly, and has been a pro ever since! We have yet to find something he can’t do!
We found Blizzard on a Facebook group for differently abled pets for adoption in Ontario. We’ve always been drawn to the less “likeable”, less adoptable animals, and with our combined experience and my medical background, we knew we could take it on, and felt the duty to. With so many animals in desperate need of homes, we felt taking one in was the least we could do. We saw Blizzard’s picture, and within 2 weeks had adopted him! He very quickly made himself at home with us, and with his new life where anything was possible!
In the same Facebook group, we came across an urgent post about Phoenix, a homeless dog in Saudi Arabia, in dire need. A fantastic organization called Tabuk Paws had been aware of her for about a year, continually trying to find her foster and ultimately a forever home, but sadly people kept mistreating her and throwing her back to the street. She bounced from shelter to shelter, each with poor living conditions. She was abused, hit by a car, shot, and abandoned in the desert. Despite all that, she was sweet and innocent, desperate for a better life. She was having trouble getting adopted so far, with no interest from any of the contacts across Europe where they usually adopt to. The search expanded to Canada, and we were the only ones that contacted them. After 4 long months, she was on her way. International dog adoptions are far more complicated and expensive than I’d ever imagined! We picked her up, a desert dogs first time seeing snow, and it was meant to be. All winter, despite the -25 temperatures, she just wanted to play in the snow.
Blizzard and Phoenix are now best friends, and we love them so much! They have taught us great patience, and shown us the meaning of resilience. It’s not easy taking care of a special needs dog, let alone 2, but it’s worth it to see how far they’ve come and know what the alternative could have been. Neither can use their back legs, needing wheelchairs to walk, or scooting on their bums. They lack control of their bladder and bowels because of the level of spinal cord injury, so their bladders have to be expressed every couple hours, and 2-3 times a day we have to help them poop. It was a learning curve for sure, but we got the hang of it, and now we poop and pee them on the toilet, how cool is that! For a while though, we learned to accept that finding poop and pee presents was going to be a daily occurrence! They also travel with a lot of stuff. Wheels, diapers, wipes, harnesses, puppy pee pads, orthopaedic beds to prevent bed sores, medication for nerve pain, ect… Needless to say, we had to upgrade to a minivan.
They may look different, but these pups are just like any other dog. They don’t see themselves as disabled, wanting to do everything that other dogs can, and they do. There is a whole world of special needs animals out there and we look forward to continuing to help as many as we can, both through our rescue and personally, and we hope others will be inspired to as well. Whether it’s fostering, adopting, or donating to rescues, it’s so important to do what we can for animals in need. I hope that more people will open their minds, hearts, and homes to disabled animals, and experience the great joy that comes with it.
