In July my old golden retriever, "Puppy", will be 14 years old...and that's in "People" years.
Puppy was the runt of the litter. She had a broken tail, a sprained elbow and tiny back legs when she was born.
We found homes for all 8 pups but Puppy's new owners said, "Our vet said to 'put her down' so we brought her back like you asked." We had anticipated that. We knew Puppy had problems but nursed her as best as we could.
She grew up very healthy and was able to get around fine in spite of the fact that x-rays showed she had NO HIP Sockets! Her tiny back legs were basically free-swinging when she walked!
I know...the name "Puppy" is so lame. Well, we called her that because we weren't sure how long we'd have her and we didn't want to get too attached by giving her a "real" name. So it was "Puppy" from the get-go.
Well, 14 years later... she can hardly get up from a lying position. :( and my own back needed a little help when lifting her rear up the one step from the garage. I looked on line to buy a doggie-lift harness but some are upwards of $100!
Here is how I spent .50 cents and made my own.
Puppy weighs 66 lbs so I got a nice sturdy tote from the thrift store. It's not your cheepo Walmart tote. It's a strong canvas tote with a vinyl coating inside. It has extra strong handles.
I simply cut off the sides.
This is a photo of the sling laid out.
She's really good about letting me slip in under her.
Then you simply lift as she is pulling herself up.
You can slide the sling up under her chest or back under her hips to
which ever area needs help. Drop the handles and she can walk right out of it.
Puppy is an amazing dog and has outlived 6 of her 7 siblings. She is a blessing to our family and we want to keep her happy and healthy as long as we can! I hope this post will help other owners of Senior Dogs!
