Wheels for paws

Family donating wheelchair to help New Brunswick dog

Family donating dog’s wheelchair to help in New Brunswick.

He won’t be wheeling around town or getting his morning donut fix, but Mac’s wheelchair is going to continue helping a four-legged friend stay mobile.

Mac, a nine-year-old Burnese mountain dog who lived in Reserve Mines with Basil Vaters and his family, died on Aug. 15, almost seven months after receiving a wheelchair thanks to Gunnar’s Wheels.

The U.S.-based foundation helps people find walking help for pets with mobility issues.

Vaters and his family reached out to the Osseo, Wis. company via Facebook after Mac’s back legs became paralyzed in October.

After receiving the wheelchair on Dec. 29, thanks to a charitable donor, Mac and Vaters could be seen on their daily walks, with many people looking forward to greeting the dog. Vaters said Mac is missed.

“The neighbours are coming and asking where he’s at because they don’t see him … Even at the Tim Hortons they are looking for him. They (were getting) his Timbits ready and everything,” said Vaters.

“I miss everything (about him). Taking him for walks, coming home and he’s not there. It’s like a part of the home is gone.”

Mac, who went to live with the Vaters family when he was a puppy, was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in July, roughly six weeks before his death. While the veterinarians can’t be sure, they guess the tumour may have been the cause of his paralysis.

After learning about Mac’s death, Gunnar’s Wheels reached out to the Vaters family to see if they would pay it forward and send Mac’s wheelchair to a family in New Brunswick.

A seven-year-old Burnese mountain dog named Nana has arthritis in her hind legs and has been on the waiting list for a wheelchair since June.

Happy to oblige, the Vaters paid for the shipment to New Brunswick on Thursday and Nana should be walking in her wheelchair this week.

“I’m very happy it’s gone to another Burnese just like Mac. The same size, the same measurements as Mac. It’s almost like a twin to him.”

NIKKI SULLIVAN/CAPE BRETON POST Basil Vaters takes Mac for his daily walk in February, along the Sydney-Glace Bay Highway near the Tim Hortons. Since Mac died, Vaters said people have been looking for him, including the Tim Hortons staff, who would put aside a box of Timbits for the Burnese mountain dog.