Happy “Hoppy” wasn’t always this happy. He was an abused, neglected little guy found wandering the streets of Manhattan, rescued from a shelter by Save a Yorkie Rescue, and transported to a foster home in Pennsylvania until we adopted the little guy. It has been a year Aug. 8th since we brought Hoppy home. It’s been a struggle at times, as Hoppy has a lot of traumatic and fearful memories to overcome. But with a lot of prayers, a new helpful, caring friend (Debbie Winkler, Animal Behaviorist), and a lot of perseverance, Hoppy is making remarkable progress. Somewhere during the traumatic occurrences in his life Hoppy had lost his left rear paw. Not that it has slowed him down by any means; he is a spunky little fellow who loves to go for walks. However, we soon found out that he continued using his little stump and would have it raw and sometimes bleeding.
We got him healed up and started wrapping the little stump with gauze and vet wrap when taking him outside. Unfortunately it didn’t hold up well and I started looking on the Internet for an alternative. I obtained Cathy’s name from one of the websites for handicapped pets. Thus “The Boot” was developed. I contacted Cathy, explained the situation, and sent her measurements of Hoppy’s leg. With each boot we would confer and make adjustments until 5 boots later we have a really good fit. Once Hoppy found out he could put weight on his leg and foot again without pain he was off and running! Literally! I know a boot sound like such a trivial thing, but it has very much improved Hoppy’s quality of life.
With all his heartache and pain in his little life, Hoppy is very slowly learning to trust people again. I was so glad to have found Cathy to help be able to bring a little happiness and normalcy into his life. He knows when I pick up that little “boot” he is going outside. He gets so excited he jumps all around, then sits still so we can put the boot on. Nothing stops him now, not rain, ice or snow. He’s even started going fishing with us in our bass boat (he even has a life vest with black trim to match his boot). Hoppy has become very dear to us, and has many friends who have helped and are still helping him along the way.
Sandy