Marley is a very special dog, a golden retriever, because even though he is paraplegic, he is happy, healthy, and above all, loved. And the love that his family feels for him can be seen in every detail of a video shared on the pet’s social media on June 28th.
It turns out that Marley’s wheelchair needed to be repaired, and when it was ready, he was immensely happy to see it. In addition to his joy, his owner, an animal rescuer, was even more pleased and carefully placed him in the vehicle so they could enjoy a ride.
The wheelchair needed to be repaired because it was badly damaged. The repair was done by Max Locomotion — an industrial animal rehabilitation company based in São Paulo. The vehicle was under repair for a month and a half, during which time the dog could not move freely.
And since the chair was being refurbished, the owner asked for accessories to be added to make the pet’s life easier, such as a pedal to stabilize the paralyzed paws, as well as to move them during walks, preventing atrophy.
The dog became paraplegic four years ago. According to his owner in another video , Marley was fine and suddenly became paralyzed, spending a month in the hospital undergoing tests to find the cause of the illness, but nothing led to a diagnosis.
It wasn’t until the last CT scan that the cause of the paralysis was discovered to be a fungus known as histoplasma.
This fungus caused neurological damage, paralyzing her hind legs. “Unfortunately, it was irreversible damage,” said the owner, who says she did everything she could to reverse the condition, but nothing worked.
Despite his physical condition, nothing prevents him from living a full life alongside his 18 pet siblings. He lives a normal life, of course, within his limitations, playing, going for walks, and having fun.
And in the video that showed his owner’s love and Marley’s joy, you can see him lying on his blanket stretched out in the backyard.
As soon as he sees his owner, he sits down, supporting himself on his front paws. When she approaches with the chair, he becomes euphoric, barking frantically. His joy is so great that other dogs approach him, curious about what was happening and cheering along with him.
Then the tutor puts him in the chair. Afterward, she takes him to the paved street in front of the house to enjoy a walk. Marley, happy, takes a few steps, getting used to his chair again.
The post garnered over 574,000 reactions, 90,000 likes, and thousands of comments full of affection.
“Marley, I love you and I love your story. Your owner has my respect for everything she has been through and is going through, but the love she feels is inexplicable,” one person commented.
“I pay for internet to watch good videos! But this one is wonderful, his happiness. How good it is that you take care of him,” another wrote.
“All his little brothers and sisters were thrilled too. So beautiful, may God bless you, young lady!”, exclaimed another.
