I arrived in the U.S. from Taiwan in August 2009 and since then have been living with my foster mum and foster brother and sister, Oscar and Mia in California. They’re beagles too you know and I just love to chase them around the garden on my cart! Apparently I’m a lemon beagle. I love to sniff everything and follow my nose wherever it will take me and boy do I look forward to dinner time!

Anyway, the earliest thing I can really remember is being in a cage at a shelter in Taiwan and being hungry, cold, in pain but not being able to move. I heard my foster mum saying once that they think I was hit either by a car or a motorcycle (whatever those are). I heard that shelters in Taiwan only wait 10 days for dogs to be adopted before euthanizing them, so I was very relieved when two people came to visit me at the shelter one day. The next thing I knew I was being whisked away from that scary place and taken straight to a vet clinic. I spent several months at the clinic being treated for my pressure sores and skin lichen and being fattened up (I particularly liked that part of my therapy). I was also given far-infrared treatment and acupuncture. The people at the clinic were much nicer than at the shelter and gave me baths, fed me, played with me and took me for walks.

Finally one day I was given an extra-special bath and grooming and taken to the airport where I was sent on a really long journey to America. My foster mum met me at the airport and took me to my new foster home where I’ve been ever since. Now I get to go for a walk with my pack every morning, sleep on a large, luxurious bed, play with my foster siblings and snuggle with my foster mum in front of the TV – she’s a huge TiVo fan so I get to do lots of snuggling in front of the TV!

So I hear it said that I’m ‘handicapped’ or ‘paraplegic’. I have no idea what that means but if it means playful, bouncy, food-loving and adorable (if I do say so myself), then yep, that’s me! I have an injured back which means that instead of walking on all four legs, I walk (and run!) when in my doggy wheelchair, and can drag myself around the house using my front legs. I can still move my back legs and like to move my feet as if I’m using them when I’m on my cart – my foster mum says I look like a total faker! Sometimes I can even stand and walk a few steps but I’m a bit wobbly.

So I’m not completely paralyzed but I do need a little help going to the bathroom. I’m housetrained and will hold it as best I can until I’m taken outside where I can usually pee on my own, but it’s best to help me finish by pressing gently on my bladder to make sure I’m completely done. I also need a little help with the ‘other’ which you can do easily by supporting me and letting me know it’s time to go. Then I pop my tail up in the air and try and squat. All you have to do is play catch! My foster mum’s starting a blog about me so you can find out more about me and my care there → Coffee’s Blog