DIY Dog Wheelchair Costs $40 and Takes 4 Hours to Build

When Benny the Pomeranian mix started having trouble with his back legs, his humans got to work on an inexpensive way to help him walk again.

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Benny is a 3-year-old Pomeranian mix who suddenly stopped walking. Noticing this, his human told her boyfriend, James Paniagua, that Benny was acting strangely and a trip to the vet was made. Paniagua told CBS Los Angeles that “the morning right after that he just couldn’t walk.”

With the costs of MRIs and surgery exceeding $8,000, medical treatment wasn’t a viable option. A custom wheelchair was also too expensive. So Paniagua took matters in his own hands and found an alternative solution.

“I started off by Google searching ‘dog do-it-yourself wheelchair.’ I said, ‘you know, that looks simple enough, and you only need a couple pieces to it, so why not? Let’s try it out,’” he told CBS Los Angeles.

Paniagua constructed a wheelchair for Benny with $40 and an idea. “He looks a little more mobile and has a different attitude when in there, as opposed to when he’s just dragging along,” Paniagua said, according to CBS Local. He plans on making improvements to the wheelchair so that Benny has even more maneuverability.

Cari Jorgensen

Cari is a former dancer and current dance enthusiast who incorporates all forms of art into her daily life, which includes writing about dogs, cats, and other animals for I-5 Publishing as an assistant web editor. She has an MFA degree in creative writing and has written short stories, poetry, and two novels, which are patiently awaiting revision. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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