Help on Wheels: Carts help disabled Ohio dogs stay mobile
By HOLLY ZACHARIAH The Columbus Dispatch
GALION, Ohio (AP) — John Lizotte approached the makeshift pen with caution because the German shepherd was in full-on guard-dog mode, his deep-throated bark of warning bouncing off the shelter walls.
John pulled a treat from the pouch strapped to his hip, stepped over the pen’s low walls and crouched down. And something happened that amazed everyone who watched: Rex, the dog with the broken body and battered spirit, crawled as close to John as he could and cuddled up.
“His bark was all bluff,” he said. “He just wanted to be loved.”
It was duty that brought John and Noel Lizotte to the Pickaway County Dog Shelter on April 5, summoned through the couple’s nonprofit charity, Rescued Rollers. John refurbishes and outfits mobility carts — think tiny wheelchairs — for dogs with disabilities and donates them to rescues and shelters to save animals otherwise likely destined for death.
Responding to a call for help from the shelter director, the Lizottes had traveled to Circleville to deliver a cart and its accessories to Rex, hoping it would make the poor boy adoptable.
For about four years now, the dog-wheelchair charity has been John’s life’s work and mission. People across the country donate old carts to him, and he raises about $7,000 a year to pay for parts, etc. The cart is a lifetime gift, meaning that John expects it back when the dog dies or doesn’t need it anymore, so it can be reused. He estimated that he has helped more than 300 dogs.
“These dogs are different, not less,” he said. “If my son was paralyzed and used a wheelchair, I wouldn’t just give up on him. These dogs deserve the same respect as humans.”
More: http://www.mariettatimes.com/wire/?category=5282&ID=93098
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