An arthritic White Plains, N.Y., dog, who lost the use of his hind legs two years ago, has received a cart to help him get around, thanks to the generosity of community members.
The dog, a German Shepherd Dog-Beagle mix named Chopper, and his owner, Patty Sanderson, a retired home health aide, were featured in an April 3 story in the upstate New York newspaper the Journal News and an April 6 feature on Dogchannel.com.
Sanderson was trying to raise $395 to buy a two-wheeled cart that would allow the dog to walk on his own again.
Since then, more than 100 offers to help pay for a new walking aid were received, the Journal News reports. And on Wednesday, April 12, Chopper, 15, was literally up and running, steering Sanderson though their neighborhood.
Not only did Sanderson get the money she needed for the cart, but another $1,000 in donations poured in.
Several people took up collections at the office, including a third-grade teacher who raised $200, and a worker at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, where Sanderson was as a nurse's aide for 41 years until retiring in 1998.
Eddies Wheels for Pets, the Massachusetts company that makes the cart, set up a separate account to hold the surplus funds, and Sanderson says she'll use to the money to get Chopper arthritis medication from his veterinarian she's been sharing her own with the dog and hire a dog walker, because she's unable to lift Chopper, who weighs 53 pounds, in and out of the cart.
Posted: April 14, 2006, 5 a.m. EST