My daughter purchased some doggy “Walkin’ Wheels” from you, for her boxer, Boags, who has degenerative myelopathy. Because Michael lives in the bustling city of Arlington, VA, and works days in DC, she was just about to give up on ever getting Boags acclimated to his new wheels. She’d even repacked them in the box that they’d come in and was going to return them to you. At the last minute, she contacted you to ask for an extension of the trial period so that she could bring the dog to me to work with him. We are so glad that you agreed to that proposal! I just want to thank you for giving her that extension of the trial period!
I live in Wakefield, RI, in the perfect neighborhood for walking dogs! There’s only one entrance into this neighborhood of about sixty residences so there’s not a lot of traffic. The sidewalks are wide, and the streets and yards were designed around a lake and lots of natural wooded areas. While out for a walk, there are always animal scents for a dog to investigate with his/her nose.
For the first few days, I coaxed Boags into short walks, twice a day. In the mornings, my neighbor walked her eager, active female dog along, just ahead of us. Because Boags was interested in them and what they were doing, it took his mind off the wheels that he was pulling behind. Only occasionally would he turn around and look at them like “Hmmm. What’s going on back there?”
On evening walks, I enlisted my 17-year-old beagle, who is as slow as you would expect a dog that old to be. There we’d go … me holding my arms up and outstretched on either side, trying to keep the leashes from becoming entangled or the old dog from being run over… again.
Walking those two together was not easy, but Boags had begun to relax more and more. By the time he went back home, he’d learned to do his potty business while on wheels … since the very first day! He’d become comfortable going up and down the slanted curbs from the street to the grass, and vice versa.
He’d learned how to back himself out of tight spaces when he’d gone too far into the brush. After the first week, he’d even chased after his tennis ball a few times! That’s when I realized for sure that the wheels were giving him the freedom to get around and would extend his enjoyment of life for however much longer.
That’s why I once again thank you for extending her two-week trial time to one month. It paid off, all the way around!
With much gratitude,
Roselyn Morris
