I've had lots of dogs the last 20 years. Every one was a stray someone threw out at my gate, usually starving and mangy. The exception was this one, that my niece and nephew gave us as a housewarming gift in '09 when it was a puppy. It grew and stayed with us for years, wandering the 124 ac and sometimes into the National forest that bordered our place. Fiercely loyal. Good with the livestock. Him on the left, one of our other dogs and 2 cats on a cold January day--heat lamp for night time:
He liked to be in front of the fan in summer.
One day, it and another of our adoptees wandered off and only the newer one returned. Found Indy a few days later down by a little pond on the North side of the property, with an injured hind end and couldn't walk. Evidently, hit by a car and managed to finally find his way close to home. Took him to the vet I always used for both dogs and cows and she told us he had hip and serious internal injuries she couldn't repair but he might regain use of his legs if we worked with him assuming he didn't develop any internal digestive injuries too but she would keep him there for a week or so. This coincided with the same week my brother died in Arkansas and I had to be away but the vet told me, 'whatever the bill is right now, that's all you'll pay' . When I returned, I picked him up and we worked with him, first walking along, carrying his weight in a big towel with his rear end supported and his back legs toddling along, trying to walk. A week or so later, I built a 'wheel chair' for him. Took a few adjustments to get it right but he was able to get around on his own. This one worked, but he tended to hit his rear paws on the wheels, which were right in line with front and rear legs. There's a white towel tied on the back just to keep him from sitting down.
This was much better, as I put 45° fittings to kick the wheels toward the outside some and extended the frame back so the wheels would be behind him. Wife and the dogs going for a walk.
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He stayed in the walker/wheelchair for a while, slowly beginning to use his back legs more and more.
A week or so later, I carried him out to sit in the sun (he couldn't get up and down the 7 steps of the front porch well) , wife drove up and he jumped up and kinda half walked, half trotted over to her and he never needed the walker again. He could run almost aswell as before, but tired out quick.
He did well for over a month, almost back to full health but one morning I walked out and there was a pool of blood and it was coming from his back end. Called the vet and she told me likely he had a hemmorage which she had always feared and it was time to let him go. I did the deed myself and admit bawlin like a baby, throwin the rifle down when done.