TEMPLE, Texas — A Central Texas service dog is looking for a wheelchair after injuring his leg.
Dante is a service dog for Temple resident Isabella Carruth. When he's not helping Carruth during the day, Dante visits the 911 Call Center for Bell County as a therapy K9.
The fur baby injured his foot after playing a game of ball outside on Feb. 20, 2023. Dante can usually conquer any injury, but Carruth knew something was up this time.
"He normally gets over things like within like a week," Carruth said. "The doctor was like, 'hey, you're going to be getting I think a good four to five months of recovery.'"
Carruth contacted a veterinarian, and they said Dante cannot put any more weight on his leg. If he does, surgery could be up to $4,000.
That's when Carruth reached out to a Facebook group in hopes of finding someone who could help build Dante a wheelchair. She was going to purchase one, but there was a shortage.
"A majority were for extra small, small dogs," Carruth said. "At the end of the day, this is a dog that's made to move, so being able to safely give him that option would be fantastic."
The wheelchair would alleviate over-exertion on Dante's good leg, which could prevent a tear causing further injury. The wheelchair was recommended by a specialist in the type of injury Dante suffered.
Carruth said she was told to not allow Dante to participate in any sports or physical activities, as well as limiting his work. Carruth said that Dante is allowed to ride in a wagon to get fresh air but has very limited mobility on his own.
It's been a difficult process for Carruth because she has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and reactive hypoglycemia. Unfortunately, with Carruth's conditions she is not able to carry Dante, leaving a wheelchair the best option for him to recover.
Dante is crucial for Carruth's everyday routine as he helps her with major health care needs.
"I can rollover, and if I'm at a resting rate of like 72, it can go up to like 140," Carruth said. "Sometimes my heart rate's 180, so like I have to take medicine and he's able to retrieve that for me."
Because of Dante's injury, he cannot do what he is trained to do. This new wheelchair will fix the issue and help the dynamic duo.
"Even though he does pull me in my wheelchair when I utilize it, he also just increases my way of living and so that's why I wanted him to have the wheelchair, so I can do the same for him because he does it for me every day," Carruth said.
At last report, a 6 News viewer is reportedly donating a wheelchair to help Dante.