A stranger gave her ailing dog a wheelchair. Now this N.B. woman is doing the same for others
Denise Stewart's free wheelchairs-for-dogs program has helped hundreds of dogs walk again
It started with her beloved boxer, Tyson. The clues were tiny at first, the sort of thing that would be easy to overlook.
"I noticed his nails would scrape across the pavement as he was walking, just once in awhile," Denise Stewart said from her home in Pennfield, in southwestern New Brunswick.
But it soon became more alarming. Tyson began staggering, dragging himself and, eventually, falling down and not being able to get up.
Distressed, Stewart posted a video of Tyson to Facebook and asked, "What's wrong with my dog?"
A man she didn't know responded from the United States. "I can tell you what's wrong with your dog."
He told her it looked like Tyson had degenerative myelopathy, a slowly progressive, debilitating disease common to boxers and several other breeds, and offered to send her a wheelchair that had belonged to his own dog before it died.
Stewart was moved to tears by the offer.
"I remember the feeling of someone helping me, because I was so desperate for help," she said. "I remember how in my heart I just felt ... there's people out there that really care."
The wheelchair completely changed Tyson's life, giving him and Stewart two more playful years together.
It changed something else as well.
Stewart decided she wanted to share the gift they'd been given. After his death, she founded Tyson's Wonder Wheels in his memory and began offering wheelchairs for dogs, free of charge, to other dog owners whose pets were suffering with degenerative myelopathy.
Soon, requests were coming in from around the world.
Free wheelchairs for more than 700 dogs
In the two years since Stewart started Tyson's Wonder Wheels, the program has provided wheelchairs to more than 700 dogs in Canada, the United States and around the world.
Most of the dogs in question have the same disease that affected Tyson, but some are missing one or more legs or have suffered debilitating injuries.
Under the non-profit program, dogs are supplied with one of its 400 wheelchairs, theirs on loan for as long as they need them. Made by WalkinWheels by HandicappedPets.com, the wheelchairs are custom-fitted to each dog's measurements, and are available for dogs of almost any size and breed.
When they're returned to Stewart and her team, they are cleaned, serviced and put back on offer, with Tyson's Wonder Wheels covering all costs through fundraisers.
"Nobody pays for their wheelchairs, not one person," Stewart said.
The program has already expanded far beyond Stewart's expectations, with a team of nine volunteers and Stewart herself handling administrative duties and answering every request for help.
Stewart comes home from her full-time job at Irving Tissue, plays with her "babies," boxers Macie and Winston, and then spends the rest of the evening working on Tyson's Wonder Wheels.
Her team of volunteers is no different, she said, noting the program would not be able to do what it does without their tireless assistance.
"I've seen us put 10 dogs into wheelchairs in one weekend," she said. "It's something that we're very proud of, and we do work hard. We can't say no to people."
But Stewart wants to do more.
Because the program is registered in the United States, where non-profits are exempt from federal income taxes, most requests for its services come from the U.S.
Stewart wants to spread word of Tyson's Wonder Wheels more broadly so that she can help more dogs everywhere, but particularly here at home in Canada.
It will mean more work for her and her team of volunteers, but she said the joy of seeing a struggling, depressed pet finally be able to get up and run and play again is worth every moment of it.
"It helped my dog walk again," she said. "That's why I started the program. Because I wanted other people to feel the same feeling that I felt in receiving such a lovely gift."
Anyone needing a wheelchair for their dog can email the program at tysonswonderwheels@gmail.com, or reach out on its Facebook page at Tyson's Wonder Wheels for Boxers and Other Breeds.
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