Dachshund loses legs, but gains new wheels

MAQUOKETA (AP) ? True to his name, Scooter the dachshund scoots around his new home on his new wheels.

The damaged dog, whose back legs are useless, took to his ?doggie wheelchair? without missing a beat and keeps up with his fellow pups, who welcomed him with open paws. Scooter wrestles and races around with Roxie and Nitschke, both about his size, using his front feet to either drag his limp back legs or to pull his mini-wheeled device.

It was pretty much love at first sight for Scooter?s new owners when they saw him at the Jackson County Humane Society shelter in Maquoketa three weeks ago.

Rich and Dawn Hall read about the dachshund?s plight in their local paper and offered to adopt him the next day. Scooter had been dropped anonymously outside the shelter one cold winter night and was discovered shivering and whimpering by a humane society member. A local veterinarian declared the dog to be healthy except for his paralyzed legs.

?You couldn?t help feeling sorry for him when he dragged himself out to meet you,? said Rich, who called his wife right away and told her, ?Oh, he?s pretty darn cute.?

?There was no question in my mind. He?s got such a mellow, sweet personality,? Dawn said.

Scooter shadows Dawn wherever she goes, and she carries him in and out of the house and up and down stairs to the couple?s ?doggie room,? full of cozy sleeping spots and canine playthings.

Although Scooter can drag himself around the house at a pretty good clip, the Halls decided to outfit him with the equivalent of a human wheelchair. They found an online source and ordered a set of ?mini-walking wheels? for Scooter.

The pooch gets fitted into a simple harness and lifted into the contraption, which allows his legs to dangle or be lifted out of the way. Strapped in, Scooter heads out to compete for a treat alongside his buds, skidding a bit on the smooth kitchen floor.

?He?s had a rough life. He?s missing some teeth and he?s got some real abandonment issues,? said Rich, as Scooter snuggled into his lap.

Scooter is a high-maintenance pup, but the Halls knew what they were getting into and are up to the challenge. Because his back legs drag on the carpet, floor and grass, they have small sores. Every night, the couple gently dabs ointment on the spots, wraps the legs in gauze and pulls tiny knit socks over them secured with soft hair bands. Since Scooter howled and cried his first night in their house, the Halls fixed up a tiny bed near their own where he now sleeps soundly through the night.

A friend gave the couple a folding dog stroller so he can go on long ?walks? with the rest of the family.

?Oh, he?s terribly spoiled. He thinks he died and went to heaven, actually,? Rich said.