Be Inspired By The Little Dog That Could

28 Mar 2012: Last week, I received an email from a friend, entitled – ‘Brave Little Dog', it remained unopened in my inbox for a few days, until I finally decided to do a bit of a clean-up, so I opened it, and had a look at the brave little dog….

To my delight, inside, was a link to a story about a little Jack Russell terrier called Kandu, who was born with a disability. He had been rescued by his new owners, from an animal shelter, where he was days away from being euthanized.

Kandu suffered from a rare deformity, where he was born without his two front legs. His previous owners decided that due to his physical differences, he wouldn't be able to have the best quality of life, so he was surrendered to a local animal shelter.

After Kandu was featured on the news, in a heart-warming story, the animal shelter was flooded with applicants, who wanted to help Kandu, and adopt him into their homes. Out of the hundred or so applications, a loving couple was chosen as Kandu's new owners.

Melissa and Ken Rogers, from Colorado, fell in love with Kandu as soon as they laid eyes on him. Ken immediately got to work, to create a miniature wheelchair-like device, to assist Kandu with his mobility. He manufactured a device out of moulded plastic and some rollerblade wheels. The contraption is fitted to Kandu's torso, and is secured to him with a strap, that ties around his back. For the colder months, Ken also developed a sled, which works in the same way as the doggie wheelchair, but has a smooth bottom that gets waxed up, to help him navigate his way around the snow, following his able bodied dog and human friends.

Ken says that Kandu is such a happy dog, and it's as if he doesn't even realize that he is disabled, he runs around as if having wheels instead of front legs is normal. Although, Kandu is capable of crawling up stairs without his wheels on, the Rogers' family wanted to make life for Kandu as easy as possible, so they even installed mini ramps at the front of their house, especially for him to get up the steps with a bit of extra assistance.

Once inside his home, he has developed his own special way of manoeuvring himself around the floor, and to make things more comfortable for him, Ken and Melissa use an old jumper sleeve, that they put over his torso, to ensure he doesn't damage his chest on the hard floor.

Melissa puts Kandu's disability to good use, by taking him to a nearby hospital, where he cheers up sick and elderly patients. She says that he lifts people's spirits, especially of those who may be struggling to deal with their recovery process. Melissa feels that perhaps some patients think ‘if Kandu can do it, maybe I can too', and he gives them that extra bit of motivation to keep going.

Since Melissa and Ken have seen how easily Kandu has adapted to his life with only two legs, and the joy that he has given to everyone around him, they decided to adopt another two legged playmate; a Chihuahua named Luci, who was also born without her two front legs.

To see Kandu in action, click the following link, where you can watch clips of him: http - you will also be able to read more about him, and see the gorgeous Luci, and the couple who so lovingly rescued them.

Kandu