Ward the Wonder Dog is defying all odds, after he was left paralyzed from the waist down by a hit-and-run, and is now able to wag his tail again. McKamey Animal Center from Chattanooga, Tennessee received a call from someone who discovered the injured dog.
"When we went out there, we deciphered that he had been hit and then pulled himself to what he felt like was safety," Lauren Mann, the organization's Director of Ddvancement, says. "And so he was actually underneath a car and was completely covered in a bunch of dirt and motor oil."
Ward was is bad shape when he arrived. He was not able to wag his tail, use his back legs and had lost all bladder control. Despite this, "his spirits were good from day one. He just had the sweetest demeanor, just wants to be everyone's friend," Mann says. "So we always said here that if he could wag his tail, it would be going nonstop."
He now uses a wheelchair, but that doesn't slow him down. "He has a really sweet face, and it didn't matter what was going on with him, he just always was happy to see you," Mann says. "When he could start to pull himself up, he would do little happy taps with his front feet and always was giving kisses and just would verbally become super excited whenever he saw his favorite people."
McKamey has partners at a local physical therapy clinic, who donates their services to dogs with special needs. Here, he gets to stretch and exercise using Hydrotherapy. They have the goal of helping him regain his leg strength.
He has since found a home of his own after a local adoption event. Kellyn Murphy and Matt Murphy are his new loving parents! "We didn't even meet any other dogs that day because he was just so sweet," Kellyn says.
"He looked so happy to be out in the lobby and meeting people and moving around, and I mean, he really is just the sweetest dog," she says. "He came right over to us to let us pet him, and he gets along great with other dogs and fits right in with ours."
Mann describes the staff's reaction to his new home saying, "Everybody stopped what they were doing and came up to the front adoption lobby and we all lined up our sidewalk and did our little clapping sendoff that we do for our long-term residents," she says. "Everybody was pretty emotional."
A few weeks ago, the two saw Ward wag his tail for the first time since the accident. "He'll do it every now and then, but it's getting more frequent and I've noticed since his legs are getting a little stronger and he's wagging his tail a little more often, we're not having to express his bladder as much either," Kellyn says. "So he just overall, I think, is getting stronger."
Since moving in, he was adapted well to the new family. "He seems more attached to us," she adds. "If we get up to leave the room, then he follows us, and he moves quickly on two legs. We'll turn around, and he's like right behind you."
You May Also Like:
