Day after day, week after week, the little two pound Chihuahua had waited in his crate, unable to walk or even to bark. Staff members of the veterinarian hospital in Los Angeles, where he had lived since he'd been found, discarded in a cardboard box with hindquarters paralyzed and vocal cords severed, were kind, but he longed to run and play as all the other dogs did. For a year, he watched them silently from his prison and wished that he were free.
That was eight years ago. Deborah and Willy fell in love at first sight and Willy was elated to have someone to love! He played with Deborah's various other pets, batted happily at toys and tried, valiantly, to walk. He was a joyful little dog trapped in a body that would not cooperate. Willy needed a way to get around.
After several experiments that did not work, Willy got his K-9 wheelcart. The first moment that Deborah placed his hindquarters into it, he took off like a kid with a new toy, smiling, as doggies do, from ear to ear. Willy was free! Finally free! Life was great. It didn't matter that he needed the wheels. He could now walk and run and play! Yes, life was pure joy.
And when you discover a secret as wonderful as that, you just can't keep it to yourself. Willy and Deborah began visiting churches, schools, hospitals and convalescent homes to spread hope and cheer, and the message that, even though we have challenges, they can be dealt with or conquered.
Willy once led a group of children with spinal cord injuries in the Los Angeles Marathon and participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Fun Walk. The children were excited to see the happy little dog in a wheelchair just as they were. In one Head Start program, Willy's charm inspired an autistic girl to speak, after a long period of silence.
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