Click here for updates on this story
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KOVR) – They’re there for us quickly, but now a therapy dog needs their own help.
For over 10 years, Spork has been an ear and a symbol of support for Kimi Anderson.
“I was only one step away from suicide watch about something, and Spork brought me back because he made me responsible. He gives me everything I can be, “said Anderson.
Anderson knows what it is like to lose some of her freedom after being paralyzed from the waist down after a street race at the age of 12.
“With a lot of splinters in my body and several chronic illnesses I’ve dealt with, spork is so important to me,” said Anderson.
Spork, a beagle and hound mix, has been Kimi’s best bud for more than a decade.
“He’s still what gives me hope on bad days and keeps me going,” said Anderson.
But now Spork needs the extra support as his favorite hikes around the block keep getting tougher.
“Spork enters the realm of paralysis much more slowly than I do,” said Anderson.
Spork has IVDD, a degenerative disc disease that causes paralysis in his back that eventually moves to his hips and hind legs.
“Spork is what I have. Spork and our walks are what I have. So if I can keep this, I want to keep this, ”said Anderson.
“It makes me cry. When I saw that Spork’s legs were falling and he couldn’t run and collapse, it just broke my heart, ”said Brooke Julian, Anderson’s neighbor.
Neighbors like Julian are helping Anderson raise money through GoFundMe to get Spork his own wheelchair and dishes, considering Anderson uses a rental car.
“You know she has a hard time bending down and picking it up. They know that it is difficult enough for Kimi to get around, let alone a dog who is now also disabled and needs a wheelchair, ”said Julian.
Kimi shares a word of encouragement with Spork, hoping that a sense of freedom that comes with a wheelchair will bring Spork back to his feet.
“As if I was able to be responsible for my body when I’m literally not responsible for half, and I want that for him, too,” said Anderson.
Please note: this content is subject to a strict local market embargo. If you have the same market as the author of this article, you are not allowed to use it on any platform.
