Jacob came to our home over 10 years ago when he was less that 1 year old. He'd been abandoned on the street, unable to use his back legs. When we took him to Tufts for an MRI and other tests, the neurologist determined that his inability to use his back half was caused by a trauma to his spinal cord. The damage could not be surgically repaired and was permanent.
Jacob immediately made friends with the other special needs dogs and cats who live in our home as part of our family. Although we had a cart specially built to fit one of our cats who cannot use her back legs, Jacob made it clear that he would have no trouble getting around on his own. Using his front legs, he would speed all around the house, his body sliding easily along the wood floors, and would pull himself up onto the couch or to the top of the cat tree. Whenever you walked into a room where Jacob was, he'd race over to you and lay his head on your foot, looking up at you.
Here's Jacob playing with Sirius, a dog with a progressive fatal disease (granulomatous meningoencephalitis):
Jacob sharing the couch with Aurora and Reuben, 2 other cats whose back legs were also paralyzed (Aurora had been found soaked in gasoline, her spine so damaged that her back legs were permanently paralyzed; Reuben had been shot in the spine):
Jacob hanging out with Leisha, an elderly blind dog:
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Jacob with his special friend, Marlowe, an elderly blind and deaf dog:
Jacob playing with Pandora, a blind dog with a heart problem:
Jacob in the sunlight:
Jacob on his beloved cat tree:
Please follow this link to the family of special needs dogs and cats who live in our home.