[Dailydrool] Doggy wheels: need some help deciding if this is an option

[Lisa K. Metzler]

Hi, Droolers!

I need your help and expertise.  My "old man" Pelly ( he will be 13 in February) is at the point where he can no longer walk more than a few steps on all four due to a back injury/surgery about 7 years ago.  We have done laser therapy, but it doesn't seem to have really worked for him, and I'm wondering if perhaps a cart or wheelchair night be an option.  As he is now, he slides himself on the hardwood floor in the house, and then out onto a wooden deck.  Add to the bad back, Pelly has Cushing's and is basically incontinent due to an anal gland tumor and subsequent surgery.  I can't keep a belly band or diapers on his "snake hips" while he slides around the house.  Unfortunately, the yard for the dogs is down a flight of stairs (the house is built into the side of a hill), and he simply cannot get up and down the stairs anymore, and I'm afraid he will further injure himself if he tries.  My back cannot take lifting/carrying him, and I'm afraid of injuring him in the process as well.  So....

What do you recommend?  I've looked at a few websites to get an idea of prices, and sticker shock has kicked in.  I can't afford a $400 cart.  I looked at used ones, but they are still pretty pricey.  If I knew what I needed, I could probably build one out of PVC pipe, but need to know about a harness, and how to even measure for the thing.

I'm aiming to restore at least some of his quality of life.  He is still very much engaged in life, and while I know that he is not going to be with me for very much longer, I want to make him as comfortable as possible and give him a little more ability to be a dog for as long as he can be.  The cart may be a way to do that.  I could keep a diaper on him this way because he wouldn't be sliding around.  He's rather fastidious, and I know he hates messing the floor wven he simply can't help it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  You may send them by email if you'd prefer not to yie up spabe here on the Drool.

Thank you!

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