Shelter fits disabled dogs with their very own wheelchairs

By Amy Reast via SWNS

Meet the woman who quit her high-flying job as an events manager to run a rescue center for disabled dogs.

Natalia George, 31, left her role at a London events company to start Flori's Friends Rescue - taking in stray and unwanted cats and dogs.

The center - based in Chartam Hatch, Kent, England - specializes in disabled animals and is currently home to 19 pets paralyzed by traumas.

Natalia and her team fit out each paralyzed pooch with their own wheelchair and says in their new wheels they can play together - just like any other dog.

Some are unable to be adopted and will live out their lives at the shelter, including their star resident, one-legged pup Elle.

Natalia sacrificed her lucrative career to run the charity, but says it's worth it to see the animals' lives transformed.

"It started off as a hobby having a few cats and dogs in a rescue," she said.

"After one heavily abused dog landed on our doorstep, our niche became disabled dogs and cats.

"When a dog is paralyzed, the first thought is to put them to sleep - but people don't realize the high quality of life these dogs can still have.

"We don't make any money from this - we all do it because we care about making a difference.

"Dogs come in here dying, but by the time they're done with us they're doing everything normal dogs do.

"Whenever anyone visits, the first thing they say is they can't believe how normal the dogs are.

"Everything we do for them is custom, right down to the custom-made onesies they get when they arrive.

"These dogs can teach people so much - despite their traumas, they don't feel sorry for themselves, they just adapt."

Natalia first founded the rescue in 2015.

She gathered a team and they soon ended up with a heavily abused dog on the doorstep in need of care and rehabilitation.

The dog, Benji, was paralyzed, but as the team rehabilitated him so well they decided that the charity's speciality would be caring for disabled dogs.

Large numbers of the animals that come to them have spinal breaks due to traumas - leaving them partially paralyzed and requiring amputation in the affected limbs.

While they do cater for four-legged cats and dogs, at the moment they have 19 disabled dogs currently in their care, and no cats.

They operate a no kill policy, opting to rehabilitate them with custom wheelchairs and behavioral therapy instead.

"The initial thing which owners and vets think when they have paralyzed animals is to put them down out of kindness," Natalia said.

"But if the animal isn't in pain, people don't realize the high quality of life they could have - they can enjoy the same sensory fun as any other animal."

Each animal that comes in is fully-rehabilitated by the charity and provided with custom equipment if needed.

For a large number of dogs in the shelter, that means they're equipped with a tiny wheelchair or bionic limb.

They also have custom-made playsuits designed to hold their diapers on, as the paralyzed dogs don't tend to have control of their bladders and bowels.

One particular dog in the shelter, two-year-old Elle, has both a wheelchair and a bionic limb as she has just one leg - but that doesn't stop her being one of the most loveable dogs in the shelter.

Some dogs go on to get adopted, although others, including Elle, live out their lives at the shelter.

"Elle was hit by a lorry in February 2021 and she was found on the side of the motorway six days later, still alive," Natalia said.

"She is so stubborn and determined to do everything - that's why she rehabilitated so well.

"We thought it would take her months to start walking using her wheelchair, but she was up and moving seconds after it was fitted."

The dogs that are in their care spend their days running around, playing together and enjoying their freedom after learning to move with their new wheelchairs.

They are able to move around just like four-legged dogs - and nothing will stop them from having fun together.

Uplifting videos show them chasing each other round and playing together, thanks to the charity's hard work and support.

They hope one day to be able to expand the shelter and apply for grants whenever possible.

But, other than that, Flori's Friends Rescue is an entirely donation-funded center.

There are no profits being generated and it keeps running thanks to hard-working staff sacrificing their time.

"We don't make money from this. I work 80 hours a week, for less than minimum wage," Natalia said.

"Everyone here is dog-mad, you have to be. We do it to make a difference for the animals."

She explained that they hope to one day expand the shelter to have capacity for more paralyzed animals.

They have more than 30 paralyzed dogs on the waiting list, due to being one of the only shelters in the country to offer such specialist support.

"At the minute, we are operating a one-in-one-out policy. In an ideal world we'd take around 50 dogs but we don't have the space yet," Natalia said.

But despite the long and tiring working weeks, Natalia says she can never see herself doing anything else.

"When the dogs first arrive here, half the time they're dying," she said.

"By the time they're done with us, they're back to living and doing everything else normal dogs do.

"Despite their traumas, they don't feel sorry for themselves, they just adapt."

She added: "People say 'you used to live in London and have a great job, do you regret it?'

"But I don't feel like I've lost anything.

"What you can give back makes it all worth it. It's worth every second."