Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tired Toby hitches ride in doggy taxi

A rescue puppy with a rare muscle-wasting disease is getting around thanks to big hearted animal charity staff who have created a special wagon for him. The seven month old Labrador cross is able to hitch a ride in the buggy, which has been dubbed 'Toby's Taxi'.

Sadly, Toby is not expected to live long beyond a year. However, his courage and character has endeared him to Scottish SPCA kennel worker Sheena McIntosh who has adopted him. We got three from a litter of unwanted pups and they looked normal, little chubby things, but Toby was always quite slim. At first we called him Gentle George because he didn’t run around like normal puppies do. But we watched him and it became obvious that something was not right with him", she said.



Labrador myopathy is very uncommon in cross breeds but unfortunately is incurable. “As he grows, the weaker he becomes”, Sheena said. Toby's lack of strength and co-ordination means sometimes ‘walkies’ can be too much for him, which is where his taxi comes in.

A specially-made cart means he can be top dog and still take in the sights. Sheena explained: “A very kind gentleman called Ian Leech made us a lovely little bogie for him so he can sit in there and I can pull him along as I walk my other dog because he hates to be left behind."

Video.

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