This beagle's journey in Utica has gone viral with over 110,000 shares and was picked up nationally by Dodo, a website for animal people featuring visually compelling animal-related stories and videos. This story fits that description perfectly.

Cecelie Pikus tells us that back in June, her dog Koda, a 2 1/2-year-old beagle, injured his back in a freak incident, possibly jumping off the couch, that paralyzed his back legs. He was rushed into emergency surgery, but he didn't regain the use of his legs and remains paralyzed today.

During the long rehabilitation, Koda's spirits were desperately low as he and their 6-month old puppy, Yogi, couldn't live the carefree, playful lifestyle they were used to. Things started to get better when he started physical therapy; his therapist had him practicing with wheels that held his back legs up, building up strength in his front legs, and moving around.

Cecelie Pikus
Cecelie Pikus
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Pikus told us :

At first, Koda was pretty hesitant to move around in the wheels, as it is a lot of work for his core to support his whole body; plus, he was in a loaner pair of wheels from his vet that didn't fit him as perfectly as the custom pair we were waiting on. We decided to take the dogs over to a friend's house who has a lot of land to try to encourage the dogs to run around and sniff. As Koda was standing in his wheels, a little weary to move, Yogi grabbed the lead attached to the wheels and started pulling him along. The encouragement from Yogi led to Koda almost running in his wheels, as the two of them started to explore together. I took a quick little video and posted it to my Facebook, where a number of beagle groups shared the post.

 

Koda's video has surpassed 109,000 shares and has really helped inspire people during some tough times. "The moment also kickstarted a new type of bond between Koda and Yogi, who are now inseparable and like to be together all of the time," says Pikus. "Even though Yogi is much younger than Koda, the injury caused somewhat of a role reversal, where the little brother now has to take care of the big brother; he'll bring him toys, play with him in a way that doesn't hurt Koda or involve him moving too much and snuggle with him all the time. The moral of the story is that we really can learn a lot from the selflessness and kindness that our pets show us every day!"

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We think Koda's medical team deserves a shout out!!!

The vet he's been working with is Village Vet in Canastota! His rehab tech, Jennifer, has been AMAZING with him. We also got a lot of help from Clinton Pet Vet and Dr. Price when everything first happened. Upstate Veterinary Services in Latham did the surgery, and A Dog’s Day Out, raised over $1,500 to pay for the cost of his wheels and part of his surgery.

His current wheels are from Eddie's Wheels, the premier animal wheelchair company out there! They take all of his measurements and make wheels that are custom-fit to him. Plus, they support his core, so he doesn't have to work as hard!

We would like to thank Cecelie Pikus for sharing this inspirational story with us.

Special Bond Between Koda and Yogi

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