molly

Molly is our personal 'special dog' and the inspiration for both My Special Dog and Molly Inspires. Although we did not know it when we first got her from the breeder, Molly is a paraplegic with no control over the lower half of her body. She wears diapers and has a wheelchair (a cart for her back legs).

When we got Molly in July 2001, she was a healthy (albeit small) three month old pug who seemed perfectly normal. Several weeks later she started to fall down when she tried to walk. It was so devastating to watch this innocent, energetic puppy going through these struggles and of course we sought out veterinarian help. This began a long process of many visits to various specialists where we discovered that little Molly had a twisted spine cutting off the nerve access from her brain to her bottom half. We were continually advised that putting Molly to sleep might be the best option, as she would probably never be able to use her back legs or control her bladder again.

 As many of you will no doubt understand, we just could not do it. We had fallen in love with our dog, and could not say "you're not perfect so we don't want you anymore". So we went through the struggles and finally learned how to adapt to our situation. We found out about a company that makes carts for animals; while difficult for a few days Molly soon became comfortable and learned to run around with this as if it had always been there. We found that Pampers #2 diapers fit her perfectly and we learned how to express her bladder. Because the diapers would fall off as she crawled around, we started putting her in baby outfits that keep her diapers on.

Molly is now five years old and we are thankful for every single day we have with her. She is truly a 'Special Dog' and has had the most profound impact on not only our life but the lives of everyone she touches. Molly can run on the beach with her cart and chase birds (although she has never caught one). We have a baby runner that Molly loves to sit in when we go jogging or rollerblading. It is amazing how this little dog is able to bridge all social gaps and make even the grouchiest person smile. Everyone is struck by her sweetness; she'll lick everyone's nose when she meets them and always wants to be in a lap. We take her into elementary schools in order to educate kids on how being different is OK and that it is important to focus on what people can do, rather than what their limitations might be.

We now consider ourselves so blessed because Molly was brought into our life. She has completely changed our perspective on life and how we view the disabled. We used to feel sorry for ourselves, thinking we were being punished by not receiving a healthy dog. Now we realize we were actually being rewarded with a true gift that has shown us how to be more understanding, accepting, and caring towards others.

Our idea of normal has changed dramatically…