When Baxter the dog needed a little more stability to maintain his balance in his wheelchair, his humans and a Lowe’s employee put their heads together to come up with a solution — and made friends in the process!
Baxter is a Poodle mix who’s estimated to be around two years old. Before leading a cushy, love-filled life with mom Amy Jo Martin and her best friend Lolly Reid, this curly-haired pooch experienced some serious trauma. He was born in Armenia, and was struck by a car, then left for dead. Luckily, a local organization called Pawsitive Rescue Armenia saved him, making him one of the few lucky ones.
“In Armenia, special needs dogs simply are not adopted. They have about a 1% chance of finding a home,” Martin told iHeartDogs. “Because of this, Pawsitive Rescue Armenia tries to fly a handful of them to the states every year since the USA has more people willing to open up their homes to special needs dogs.”
Thankfully, Baxter was one of those dogs. By the time he came to the US, his injured leg had already healed incorrectly. But Amy Jo, who’s a volunteer at the Southeast German Shepherd Rescue and is no stranger to rescuing special needs dogs, didn’t care. She got him a wheelchair as soon as he arrived home, which he uses to get around easily while he’s playing outside.
“I’ve been involved in dog rescue since I was 21 years old,” Amy Jo, 49, told us. “I have 23 urns of the rescue dogs that have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. We tend to adopt the special needs and seniors, but if a stray is dumped near our property, we take him/her in.”
Now, Baxter fits right in with a pack of seven other rescue dogs, many of them with special needs. And even though he sometimes needs his set of wheels, Amy Jo tells us the pup gets around just fine! There was only one small problem with his wheelchair: when he tried to sit back in it, it would start to tip backwards. So she, Lolly, and their pup headed to the Lowe’s in Wilkesboro, North Carolina to seek a solution.
That’s when they met Andy, an employee and fellow dog lover who promised to help them with their endeavor. After about an hour of brainstorming, they came up with a project plan. They decided to attach a third wheel to the cart to act as a “kickstand,” and the materials only set Amy Jo back about $5.
The ladies and their pup went home to construct their contraption, and with a few tweaks, it was a success! Naturally, they wanted to show their new friend Andy how much he’d helped his new pal Baxter.
“Andy gave it a good ‘once over,’ and gave his seal of approval,” Amy Jo wrote on Facebook.
To show their gratitude for Andy’s help, which went way beyond typical “customer service,” Amy Jo took to social to share the story of the Lowe’s employee who made a big impact on a little dog’s life. Along with a handful of adorable pictures, the post began to spread, touching the hearts of animal lovers everywhere!
“You know that saying about how a little appreciation goes a long way? We truly felt that with Andy,” she wrote on Facebook. “He really seemed touched that we took the time to stop in to show him the final product and express our gratitude.”
In addition to getting help from a caring employee, Baxter and his humans have made a new friend. “[Andy] said he and his wife would love to dogsit Baxter if we ever need them to and gave us big hugs before we left,” reads the post.
We love this uplifting story of helping each other out and making friends along the way. Thanks to Andy for his compassion and kindness, and to Amy Jo for letting us share this heartwarming story — as well as rescuing dozens of dogs in need!
