syndicated article originally published in the Ashland Times Gazette 8/7/2021

Local nonprofit has provided wheelchairs for hundreds of canines

Zach Tuggle

Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

 GALION – John Lizotte comforted a 4-month-old golden retriever as she flailed about inside her wheelchair at Rescued Rollers.

“Her name’s Mila,” he said as his pup pawed the grass. “It’s short of Milagro. It means ‘miracle’ in Spanish. She’s a miracle dog.”

The puppy is one of hundreds Lizotte has helped across North America, many of which would have been euthanized had his rescue not been available to take them.

More:‘They don’t know they’re different:’ Galion man’s nonprofit provides wheelchairs for dogs

Now he’s trying to raise enough money to buy a vehicle to be used for trips to veterinarians across Ohio, and even to pick up dogs across the eastern portion of the continent.

Special needs dogs ‘can have a fantastic quality of life’

Rescued Rollers was formed almost by accident seven years ago when Lizotte and his wife, Noel, adopted a border collie from Texas that used a wheelchair. When it came time to replace the chair, they wanted to give the old one away, and quickly realized the demand for such a high-priced piece of equipment.

“The chairs average about $500 apiece,” Lizotte said. “Some more, some less.”

The couple helped organize donations of chairs. Providing the wheelchairs free to adoptive families increased the number of rescues, and started saving dozens of puppies from being euthanized.

“These guys can have a fantastic quality of life,” Lizotte said. “You don’t need to put them down.”

The Galion rescue is known nationwide. It has helped dogs from as far away as The Bahamas, and is preapproved by both Southwest and Delta airlines to fly dogs in from across the United States.

“There are only three or four rescues across the country that specialize in special needs,” Lizotte said. “They’re pretty rare.”

Rescued Rollers operates entirely on donations

The number of dogs at the rescue varies on any given day. The nonprofit’s team of volunteers gets dozens of calls each week about dogs that need help, as well as from families willing to help take them in once they’re nursed back to health.

“We have a police dog with a spinal injury they retired,” Lizotte said. “He came from a sheriff’s office in Maryland.”

Then there’s a three-legged dog from the Caribbean. One who is both blind and deaf. A diabetic. And another who survived a hurricane but is now living out his final days at the rescue as a hospice patient.

“I need fosters desperately,” Lizotte said. “Foster families and money are our two biggest issues.”

Once a dog has received all of its required medical attention and has returned to health, the rescue places it in a temporary foster home until a family comes along to permanently adopt the animal.

The entire rescue operates on a budget of just $25,000 per year, which comes entirely from donations. Lizotte draws no salary, although he stays home full-time to care for his patients.

“Financially, my wife supports us,” he said. “My job is to stay home and take care of the dogs.”

SUV will be used to transport dogs

The goal this summer is to raise $25,000 for an SUV that Lizotte can use to transport dogs like Mila to Columbus for surgeries. It will be spacious enough for about six dogs, and will be air conditioned for their health.

He could have used the vehicle earlier this summer when Mila was flown into Cleveland. Instead, a volunteer provided a vehicle for the trip.

“I hate asking for money,” Lizotte said. “This time, it’s really critical.”

Mila was born with a condition known as hydrocephalus, which is caused by water that built up within cavities inside her brain.

“Her story is pretty typical of the dogs we bring in,” Lizotte said.

When she was born, her owners in Baltimore realized she had an enlarged head, could not move properly and only laid on one side. They took her to three different veterinarians, all of whom gave the grim news that putting her down would be the best course of action. Finally, they discovered Rescued Rollers.

“Within a week, she started to show improvement,” Lizotte said. “It’s my hope that within a few months, she will be able to get out of her wheelchair.”

‘It’s like a calling for me’

He bought a special tub to give Mila swim therapy. By the time she’s 1 year old, she can have an operation to place a shunt that will allow the water to drain.

Mila’s medical bills are expected to reach $8,000. As high as that is, it won’t be a record — a dog a few years had one operation that cost $13,000.

“The average person, or even shelter, can’t spend that much for an operation,” Lizotte said.

Donations will allow the local rescue to continue saving dogs across the nation.

“It’s like a calling for me,” Lizotte said. “I can’t stop. These dogs are living beings. They deserve this.”

To learn more about Rescued Rollers, call Lizotte at 419-631-3927, or visit him online at rescuedrollers.com.

ztuggle@gannett.com

419-564-3508

Twitter: @zachtuggle