Saskatoon couple hopes someone returns Bo the boxer’s wheelchair

Last weekend, was Bo the Boxer’s 10th birthday. David and Danielle Sherin took her out for a special birthday walk, and came back to their home in Saskatoon’s Varsity View neighborhood.

Bo (short for Higgs boson – owner Danielle is a medical physicist), can’t walk without the help of a specially designed wheelchair. After her walk, the Sherins took the wheelchair off, and left it on their front porch.

“We were going to clean it off. It had some snow on it,” said Danielle. “We got busy making supper. We left it there for a few hours and then when we went to take it back in, it was gone.”

Now, the couple have to lift their dog’s back legs into a sling and carry it so she can get around and out for her walks.

“She (Bo) does have some health problems that have been coming around with age,” explained David. “For the last two years she’s been losing function in the back end. She started off with loss of coordination and then she went to dragging a foot and just in the last six months she hasn’t been able to stand on her own anymore.”

The wheelchair looks something like a small golf bag cart, with large black wheels and a “Barbie” pink coloured steel frame. It was specially ordered and made from a company called “Handicapped Pets Canada,” at a cost of between $550 and $600.

Danielle says she’s sure whoever took the wheelchair didn’t realize what it was.

“It’s very unlikely that they stole it for their dog and that it would fit their dog. Part of it was taken so it’s not functional they way that it was. We were hoping that it would be dumped somewhere someone might see it and could return it.”

So far, though no one has turned it in. The Varsity View Community Association put a message about the stolen wheelchair on its Facebook page, and the couple has received a lot of support.

“We have been offered a used wheelchair to try out to see if it would fit Bo,” added Danielle.

David is hoping though, that someone might find it or turn it in.

“Our dog has been having a harder time this last week and she’s a dog that we’re doing our best to give her her best life and that wheelchair really did contribute to some longer walks and better times outdoors.”

The couple hopes that if someone has it, they either contact the Varsity View Community Association’s Facebook page, or they’ll leave it where it can be found.