Gemma McKee said her pet dog was her 'rock' when she broke her ankles. Now she has returned the favour after Cesar lost the use of his hind legs. She bought him a £500 set of wheels which enables him to run and walk.
A woman who was helped to walk again thanks to her dog has now returned the favour after her pet lost the use of its back legs. Gemma McKee, 26, has Cesar, a two-year-old Great Dane, to thank for helping her to walk after breaking both ankles in a diving accident. But she was left heartbroken after her 'rock' suffered a back injury, leaving him without the use of his rear legs.
Cesar suffered from fibro-cartilaginous embolism - a blocked blood vessel in the spinal cord - in January. Determined to fight on for her beloved dog, Gemma went looking for a specially built cart which has allowed him to run again. Miss McKee, from Paisley, Scotland, said: 'My heart broke when the vets told me Cesar wouldn't be able to walk unaided again. He's been such an active dog.
'It sounds strange but I understood what he was going through - less than a year before Cesar's illness, doctors told me I'd never walk again.' The news came when Cesar woke whimpering and limping just as she was getting back on her feet herself. He was referred to a spinal specialist who broke the bad news, saying he would never walk again. She was desperately keen to get Cesar walking again as it was him who gave her the strength to walk again following a horrific accident in 2012.
Having danced since she was three, she broke both her ankles when performing a synchronised dive with the 1940s routine Doll House in Germany. At the time, doctors said it was unlikely she would ever walk again, and even had her sign a form allowing them to amputate her feet should the operation go wrong.
It took her a year and support of her dog to begin walking again, saying Cesar helped her throughout, acting as her rock. 'As long as he wasn't in any pain, I was determined to help my devoted pet get mobile again - I couldn't bear to see him looking so sad.' Finding a cart for the ten stone Great Dane proved tricky though, with wheels of that size unavailable in the country.
Thankfully, Dogs on Wheels in London copied a US design for £500 instead of £2,000, meaning the dog could walk again. Since getting the wheels in May, his health has improved and he is back running again.
'Like me, he just needs help to get him out and about,' Miss McKee said. 'To see him whizzing round the park on his "wheels" you know he still enjoys his walks and life in general. 'We make a right pair. We're both walking miracles and together we've saved each other. I'm so lucky to have him.'
Photos - SWNS, Daily Mail
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