Salinka in her dog wheelchair from PetMRC / K9 Cart West

Salinka was your typical 13 year old Siberian husky. Six years of 4H training had mellowed her into a dignified senior. Yet, on some days that grace and dignity was replaced by a mischievous gleam in her light blue eyes and she would gallivant like a puppy chasing tennis balls and giving our local rabbits some exercise. Salinka appeared to be a husky that would surpass the typical life expectancy of 14 years. Then trouble happened. During the 4th of July, 2008, a large firecracker went off near our house scaring Salinka. In her sudden flight to get away from the noise, she stepped into a small hole and wrenched her left rear knee. Seeing her suddenly limping had me worried. Being a vet tech for six years my mind began running through all of the possible injuries that could have happened; the top two that came to mind were either her hip or knee had been injured. I took her to my vet the following day and the vet confirmed that her knee was blown out. I was faced with a dilemma. Salkina was an old husky and the ACL surgery that a specialist could perform would put her in harms way of dying under anesthesia. The cost of the surgery would be over 00. Surgery was out of the question. The other option the vet offered was to keep her crated, not allow her access to the stairs, and drug her to minimize the pain. I was not happy with that option either. Fortunately for me, the Pet Mobility Rehab Center had just hired me to help build wheelchairs for disabled pets. Honestly, I …
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