Sweet Pup With Rare Disease That Sleeps Waiting To Die Gets Second Chance At Life

Here’s the problem with being handicapped:

On the inside, you’re just like everyone else. You have the same emotions, needs and desires that everyone else has.

Sadly, your body just won’t cooperate. But sometimes, with the help of special braces and other medical equipment, miracles can happen.

For one dog in a shelter, abandoned because his owners couldn’t deal with his health condition anymore, it appeared it was going to take a miracle for him just to stay alive.

J.D. (short for Jack Daniels) had been turned in at the shelter when his health condition worsened to the point that he had a hard time maintaining his balance.

He walked like a very drunk human, and couldn’t make his body do the things he told it to do.

His condition is called Cerebellar Hypoplasia, a form of muscular dystrophy. There is no cure and it can get worse over time.

And being lazy and cold-hearted, instead of being responsible for caring for J.D. through his worsening health, his owners just dumped him.

Most dogs in J.D.’s condition wouldn’t have lasted long at the shelter.

The harsh reality is that unhealthy dogs have to be moved out quickly to make room for healthier, more easily adoptable dogs.

But J.D. got lucky. He happened to be at the shelter the day that Tom Fletcher dropped by to look for his new best friend…he took one look at J.D. and decided that he was the one.

Despite the health issues and knowing all of the problems that come along with adopting a special needs dog, Tom was adamant: J.D. was going home with him.

Under Tom’s care JD started going through physical therapy for his rear legs, eating specialty dog food, and is also on medications for his joints.

But despite Tom’s best efforts, J.D. was still unable to walk on his own.

Fletcher really wanted to help J.D. live as normal a life as possible, but he didn’t have enough money to do what he wanted to do for his dog.

So, Tom decided to start a GoFundMe page. His heart was warmed by the donations he and J.D. received after he shared his desire to make J.D.’s life better.

Thanks to generous donors and a company called “Eddie’s Wheels” it wasn’t long before J.D. had his very own, custom-made wheelchair!

The folks at Eddie’s carefully measured J.D. to make sure his chair fit him perfectly.

There was a learning curve for J.D. that caused some pretty spectacular wrecks, but before long he was racing about as if he was born with wheels instead of legs!

Now, in fact, for the first time J.D. can play chase with Tom, and oftentimes win.

They can take long walks through the park together, and both of them enjoy meeting other people with their dogs.

Tom says J.D. has made many new friends, both human and canine, because he is so outgoing and friendly.

And now, thanks to the kindness of a man who couldn’t ignore a dog that needed him so much, J.D. has a fresh start in a wonderful new life.

Wishing you both a long and happy life together. Keep on rolling, J.D…but keep it between the lines, big guy!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site