Rescue dog can now run on the beach
COLA SUFFERED EXTREME CRUELTY IN THAILAND
A DOG who overcame extreme cruelty is running across the sand dunes again after being fitted with a brand new set of prosthetic legs.
Cola is a rescue dog from Thailand who now lives in Hornsea, East Yorkshire. The poor dog was taken in by John Dalley, who ran a charity in Thailand, after he was found with his front legs sawn off.
John told the BBC: “He’s really a very lucky dog. The only time he’s not had his prosthetic legs, because they’re broken or have had to be repaired, he cries and howls if the other dogs go out and he’s left behind.”
Toby Carlsson, a prosthetist at Dorset Orthopaedic Clinic in Stockport, designed and fitted the prosthetics. He said: “He’s such a delightful dog. It’s hard not to be in love with him really.”
John and his late wife Gill set up a dog rescue called Soi Dog Foundation in Thailand in 2003. John returned to Hornsea in 2017 following Jill’s death and took Cola with him.
Although Cola can hop around “kangaroo style” on his stumps, he needs prosthetic legs to run on the beach, one of his favourite hobbies.
John’s late wife Gill was also a double amputee and adored Cola.
It was her own prosthetist who made Cola his first pair of front legs. Cola has adjusted remarkably well to his liability and his new legs allow him to play as normal on Hornsea beach with the other dogs.
John said: “His prosthetic legs enable him to walk and behave like any other dog when he’s out for a run.”
BBC footage shows Cola trotting along the beach, clearly in his element once more. It comes after East Riding Council announced dogs will now be welcome at all of its leisure centre cafés.
A successful trial was well received by dog owners who can now bring their four-legged companions indoors.