Special Needs Dogs Get Top Notch Care from Chief of ED
When Dr. Sunil Mehta leaves work after a busy shift in the Emergency Department at the Owen Sound Regional Hospital, he’s got a couple more patients waiting for him at home.
Sunil and his wife Angela own two special needs dogs — both of them paralyzed, both of them adopted. Eddie, a husky mix, came first in the fall of 2018, after Angela witnessed him get hit by a car. Wally, a Chihuahua mix who is similarly paralyzed, was going to be euthanized in California when he was lucky enough to be adopted by Sunil, Angela and Eddie in May, 2019.
“We said you know what, we have one paralyzed dog, it can’t be much harder to have two.”
Sunil’s wife is passionate about wanting to save dogs with little hope left, and Sunil has acquired that passion as well. “This is something we’ve elected to do and we try to merge the two things together, my desire to help people and her desire to help animals,” he said.
The dogs require a little more help than regular dogs. They need their bowels and bladders manually expressed two or three times a day, but other than that, “they can do everything other dogs can do, they just can’t move their back legs.” They even have custom made wheeled carts so they can go for walks.
Sunil said it’s rewarding to see that the dogs are happy and living full lives. And it’s a message the couple likes to share with others too, including visits with the dogs to long-term care homes. “The biggest message is, don’t give up if something like that happens.”
“Seeing the happiness in his eyes every day, how excited he is to play and go for his walks makes me glad we saved him. He’s still having a very good life.” — Sunil Mehta, Chief of Emergency Medicine, on rescuing Eddie.
To learn more about adopting special needs dogs, visit:
- Guelph rescue group Paws R Us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
- @EddiesSecondChance on Instagram and Facebook