A dog owner is seeking help from animal-lovers, veterinarians, and everyone else because her pooch may develop a paralyzing disease.
Dobby is a two-year-old dachshund who suffered through abuse that any pet owner would find horrific. Born into a breeding business, the pup had its front right paw cut off with a saw and was put in a bag then a box and dumped at Circle of Friends Animal Society in Georgia.
He is now in need of a prosthetic leg or he will face developing IVDD, a disease that affects a dog's spinal column.
"Dobby is so exceptional and such an affectionate dog," Michelle Alexis, Dobby's owner, said. "He is also very photogenic and he loves the camera. He'll pose and tilt his head; he's like a real kid."
Alexis immediately fell in love with Dobby when she first saw him and applied to adopt him because she felt she could relate to the pooch as she has a congenital arm.
"I said to myself, 'Who's going to adopt this bald, three-legged dachshund,' so I knew I had to have him," she said.
Alexis learned about Dobby when she saw his photo on the Circle of Friends Animal Society's Facebook. Upon seeing his photo, she took interest in rescuing Dobby. He was then taken to his forever home with Alexis in New Jersey when he was transported to her house from the Georgia animal shelter.
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"The shelter had to teach him how to walk," Alexis said. "When I first got him, he was bald and he had suffered from abuse and had some infections; he almost really didn't make it. Now he's overcome everything."
Veterinarians advised Alexis to wait until Dobby was one to get him a prosthetic leg. In an effort to receive exposure to her beloved pet, she created a Facebook page for Dobby that displays his photographs, her artwork and t-shirts modeled after him, and videos of the pup.
Lorri Daley, a Corona resident and friend of Alexis, has been helping Dobby gain visibility in an effort to find someone who can supply a prosthetic leg for the pup.
"I'd give anything to help my friend get her precious dog a 3D leg," Daley said. "Here's this little dog who has had a traumatic life and Michelle turned that around to work miracles for him."
Alexis provides a comfortable home for her pooch by accommodating his disability. As a graphic designer, she makes fashionable shirts for Dobby to cover his chest. She has also made ramps for easier accessibility for her dog, to which he learned how to slide down on.
"It's really about finding somebody to do his leg because it's going to be a project," Alexis said. "Right now, the main thing is finding someone who can do it."
Anyone who would like to help Dobby receive a 3D leg is encouraged to reach out to Alexis through the pup's Facebook page.
