COLCHESTER – He goes by Fred, and he moves a bit better now.
Fred is a 12-year-old blue-eyed border collie mix who was rescued by the husband and wife team of Leigh Radziwon and Ron Agnello, from Colchester.
Fred, who was an abuse case, had to have one of his rear legs amputated years ago was losing strength in the one back leg he had remaining. Enter Raziwon’s friend Paul Armstrong, a prosthetist at Hanger Clinics in Vernon. Armstrong usually works on people but lent his time and talents to help with a K9 cart for Fred.
After a bit of tinkering, Armstrong had Fred on a roll, literally – the new cart has Fred able to move all around again, alleviating the burden on his back leg.
“He’s a lot more mobile now,” Radziwon said. “As soon as Paul got the fitting and alignment right in the cart, he (Fred) just took off, and it was unbelievable.” Armstrong added, “this is what makes our profession so special -- you get to see life come back.”
Fred is now back playing with the other rescue dogs in his yard in Colchester, happier than he has been in years, according to Radziwon. She said, “Fred has a lot of life and a lot of love left to give.”