The Legacy of Cerberus (10/13/14 – 04/18/16)

Cerberus’ Mom, Emily, sent us his cart yesterday along with a lift harness, belly bands, and lots more. But the best thing she included was a letter and pictures that we will forward to the next recipient of Cerberus’ wheelchair. We’re sharing it here with her permission. Thank you Cerberus and Emily. You are both incredible souls.

The letter reads:

To the next owner of the dog who will be gifted this chair:

Hello. My name is Emily and this special chair belonged to my baby, Cerberus. I picked Cerberus out of a litter of 7 puppies from an accidental litter. I visited him every week until he was 7 weeks old and I could bring him home. Never was there a pup more loved and cared for. With 5 other dogs, he quickly learned how he was expected to behave and though was full of wild puppy energy, he was an amazingly smart and loving pup. At 6 months old he began to show signs that something was wrong with one of his back legs. After taking him to my vet, we were recommended to go see a neurologist to get to the bottom of the issue. There they told us they believed he had a spinal tumor but it would cost over $3000 for an MRI and spinal tap to get a definitive diagnosis. Unable to afford that and seeing that his other leg was starting to show signs of issues as well, I took the money I had and bought him a chair and had a ramp installed to my back deck.

The 4 weeks that he was almost immobile without my assistance or him being able to “boot scoot” only, saw him start to get depressed watching his siblings run around and he could not. He became my number one concern and, had to take time from the others to give him lots of special attention, prime spot next to mama on the bed, and take him on special walks with his new help em up harness.

When his chair came in, I saw a changed pup. Once again he was able to run and play and go on walks with his doggy siblings and feel like one of the pack again. Never did a boy love a chair as much as Cerberus loved his. He would nose it when he wanted to get in it and would run over the paws of his youngest doggy brother when he wouldn’t want to play with him. It brought both of us so much joy.

One day, at 18 months old, he had an unexpected and bad seizure that left him unable to use his front legs and he wouldn’t eat and barely drink. Being that he was 125 pounds, l could not carry him without him being able to use his front legs; add in that he wasn’t eating or drinking, which were his favorite pastimes other than playing and getting loves and I knew his time had come to go to the rainbow bridge. As you can imagine, it was devastating and so sudden.

When Ranger’s Facebook page said they were starting this charity, I knew it was time to let go of this piece of my baby and so it could bring joy to another dog in need of being able to run and play again. I’d love to hear from you with pictures or a video of your furry baby enjoying the chair as my own did for such a short time. Please feel free to email me at anytime as I would love to hear any stories associated with the recipient of this special chair. I hope it goes to good use and it can carry on the joy and love of Cerberus to other dogs in need.

With love,

Emily

We are honored to be a part of his legacy, Emily. Your donation of his wheelchair will give the gift of mobility to another dog in need. Thank you so much.