Paul Coover
09-06-2006, 06:53 PM
My name is Paul Coover. We adopted a dachshund named Riley back in 2003. This is our story:
We bought our first dachshund from a pet store in August 2000. Kebo was only a puppy and we all learned about life together. He was a very funny fellow, a typical wiener. He really hated being left alone, even for just 15 minutes. So, we had an idea. We began searching for a companion, someone that Kebo could play with even when we were around. We believed that this would be our solution.
We found an ad online from the Central Indiana Dachshund Rescue Agency. They had a little guy named Riley. Riley had some problems; personality and health were the big ones. His original owners had given him up because the couple had a baby. Riley became very jealous and they feared that he might attack their child. He was adopted once to an elderly couple, but they could not handle the "dachshund personality". The ad was looking for a couple with dachshund experience, preferably someone with a dachshund already. The ad was looking for us.
In February 2003 we drove from New Jersey (where we were living at the time) to Indianapolis to pick up Riley. When we first saw Riley, he barked at us. He even bit my wife on the hand. But after 10 minutes, he was cuddling up to us. We knew that he was unable to walk, but we were not prepared for the scope of his immobility.
His back had a slipped disk, so he lost the use of his back legs. He also lost control of his bodily functions. We were a little terrified, but we wanted to make this work. We loved Riley from the start, no matter what. We believed that we were meant to find him and take care of him.
At first Kebo was very upset that we had another dog. After much attention and careful planning, Kebo and Riley became good friends. Riley could not get around on his own and Kebo would try to play with him. Riley would start running around chasing Kebo dragging his back legs on the carpet. After a while, his legs were very sore and raw. We decided to take him to the Vet and get some advice.
The Vet said that Riley would never be able to walk again. It was then that he told us about the K9 Cart. We were fascinated. We ordered one immediately. Finally Riley could run around and play with Kebo. At first it was very difficult for Riley to use. We moved all the furniture around the house and let him run for several hours every day in his cart. At this time the spring was coming and we wanted to be able to let Riley run outside in his new legs. What was about to happen is quite simply a miracle.
One day Riley was laying on the floor (not in his cart) chewing on a toy. Then he just stood up on his own! We were so excited we could hardly believe what we saw! Over the next 2 days he kept standing up and then he took a step. Then 2. Then 3. A week later he was walking! We took him to the Vet and had him checked out. The vet didn't know why he was walking. But we didn't really care why. We were just really happy that he was walking. The vet said that he may lose the ability to walk again, and in June 2003 it happened. One day he couldn't walk anymore. It was like he forgot how to walk.
We were very sad. Even though the Vet warned us, we couldn't accept it. Then something strange happened. The following month he popped up and started walking again, like he never missed a day. 3 years later he has never slowed down. He runs around chasing Kebo and the rest of the dogs in the house. He goes to the bathroom on his own. His personality "flaws" have gone away. We know that he could have a relapse of his paralysis, but we don't think about that. Every day we have Riley is a gift.
We found out about handicappedpets.com from Tina Nunez, the founder of the Central Indiana Dachshund Rescue Agency. We still keep in contact, sending letters and photos all the time. I am a professional writer and photographer, so I have many hundreds of pictures of our boys. She recommended that we share our story with you.
Since then we have shared Riley’s story and his recovery has been inspirational to many people around the world. His story even inspired us to adopt 2 more dachshunds, one of which is handicapped. We have also started to foster dachshunds as well, and we currently are fostering a handicapped dachshund named Pork Chop.
We moved up to Maine in 2004 to the country. We have a house with a yard and no steps, which is perfect for our dachshunds. We love the peace and quiet of Maine, and the dogs do too. Life is good!
Riley has changed our lives. Now I help people every day with their handicapped pets by offering support and advice. We now have Kebo, Riley, Willy, Johanna, Pork Chop and Auggie in our household. We feel like we have really made a difference, and it is all because of Riley. He is truly a special little guy!
We bought our first dachshund from a pet store in August 2000. Kebo was only a puppy and we all learned about life together. He was a very funny fellow, a typical wiener. He really hated being left alone, even for just 15 minutes. So, we had an idea. We began searching for a companion, someone that Kebo could play with even when we were around. We believed that this would be our solution.
We found an ad online from the Central Indiana Dachshund Rescue Agency. They had a little guy named Riley. Riley had some problems; personality and health were the big ones. His original owners had given him up because the couple had a baby. Riley became very jealous and they feared that he might attack their child. He was adopted once to an elderly couple, but they could not handle the "dachshund personality". The ad was looking for a couple with dachshund experience, preferably someone with a dachshund already. The ad was looking for us.
In February 2003 we drove from New Jersey (where we were living at the time) to Indianapolis to pick up Riley. When we first saw Riley, he barked at us. He even bit my wife on the hand. But after 10 minutes, he was cuddling up to us. We knew that he was unable to walk, but we were not prepared for the scope of his immobility.
His back had a slipped disk, so he lost the use of his back legs. He also lost control of his bodily functions. We were a little terrified, but we wanted to make this work. We loved Riley from the start, no matter what. We believed that we were meant to find him and take care of him.
At first Kebo was very upset that we had another dog. After much attention and careful planning, Kebo and Riley became good friends. Riley could not get around on his own and Kebo would try to play with him. Riley would start running around chasing Kebo dragging his back legs on the carpet. After a while, his legs were very sore and raw. We decided to take him to the Vet and get some advice.
The Vet said that Riley would never be able to walk again. It was then that he told us about the K9 Cart. We were fascinated. We ordered one immediately. Finally Riley could run around and play with Kebo. At first it was very difficult for Riley to use. We moved all the furniture around the house and let him run for several hours every day in his cart. At this time the spring was coming and we wanted to be able to let Riley run outside in his new legs. What was about to happen is quite simply a miracle.
One day Riley was laying on the floor (not in his cart) chewing on a toy. Then he just stood up on his own! We were so excited we could hardly believe what we saw! Over the next 2 days he kept standing up and then he took a step. Then 2. Then 3. A week later he was walking! We took him to the Vet and had him checked out. The vet didn't know why he was walking. But we didn't really care why. We were just really happy that he was walking. The vet said that he may lose the ability to walk again, and in June 2003 it happened. One day he couldn't walk anymore. It was like he forgot how to walk.
We were very sad. Even though the Vet warned us, we couldn't accept it. Then something strange happened. The following month he popped up and started walking again, like he never missed a day. 3 years later he has never slowed down. He runs around chasing Kebo and the rest of the dogs in the house. He goes to the bathroom on his own. His personality "flaws" have gone away. We know that he could have a relapse of his paralysis, but we don't think about that. Every day we have Riley is a gift.
We found out about handicappedpets.com from Tina Nunez, the founder of the Central Indiana Dachshund Rescue Agency. We still keep in contact, sending letters and photos all the time. I am a professional writer and photographer, so I have many hundreds of pictures of our boys. She recommended that we share our story with you.
Since then we have shared Riley’s story and his recovery has been inspirational to many people around the world. His story even inspired us to adopt 2 more dachshunds, one of which is handicapped. We have also started to foster dachshunds as well, and we currently are fostering a handicapped dachshund named Pork Chop.
We moved up to Maine in 2004 to the country. We have a house with a yard and no steps, which is perfect for our dachshunds. We love the peace and quiet of Maine, and the dogs do too. Life is good!
Riley has changed our lives. Now I help people every day with their handicapped pets by offering support and advice. We now have Kebo, Riley, Willy, Johanna, Pork Chop and Auggie in our household. We feel like we have really made a difference, and it is all because of Riley. He is truly a special little guy!