After witnessing him struggling, the student building a custom shopping cart for PitBull is paralyzed

Shannon Ryan was scrolling on Facebook when she saw a request in a separate group for volunteers and supporters of the Pitties Love Peace rescue. The rescue team is looking for someone to take care of a 6-week-old puppy named Jimmy. Shannon immediately said yes.

It doesn’t matter that he can’t move his hind legs and no one knows why. She didn’t care that he had to wear diapers. One look at his cute, small face, and she was sold.

Jimmy came for the first time Pitties love peace when it was only six weeks old and it was surrendered by the breeder. Pitties Love Peace is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of Pit Bulls.

At first, they weren’t sure why his hind legs didn’t work, but after several times orthopedic and neurological consultation and several magnetic resonance imaging machines, experts concluded that Jimmy would be permanently paralyzed. The birth defect left him with little sensation in his legs and toes, making him unable to walk on his hind legs. His spine was heavily curved and twisted like a corkscrew.

No spinal surgery can help Jimmy, so he will likely always be a special needs dog, diapered and wheelchair-bound. So people started brainstorming what they could do to get him moving. It was at that time a volunteer received a call for proposals for Elizabethtown College’s Community Based Project engineering course. The project combines students with non-profit organizations.

“I think the students found it really fun and motivated in a way by this project that isn’t normally in their assignments. I think it’s very rewarding for them to be able to use their skill set and then see it make a difference,” says Brenda Daily, associate professor of engineering at Elizabethtown College.

When the college students saw Jimmy’s sweet face, they fell in love and immediately accepted his wheelchair proposal. So a team of five engineering students from Elizabethtown University set out to design a custom stroller for Jimmy so he could finally feel more free to move around. It took months and meetings, but they finally figured it out.

To accommodate him as he grows, the team used telescopic tubes that can be adjusted to a variety of sizes. They also made sure his hind legs wouldn’t be dragged on the ground by fitting a fabric loop to the right side of the stroller allowing them to rest comfortably and slide in and out easily.

“This is the most exciting project I have ever worked on and the most eye-catching project to date. I remember watching Jimmy try to walk when we first met him and it was heartbreaking, because you could tell he wanted to run and play like a normal puppy, but he can’t. It just motivates us all more to do the best job we can so Jimmy can do it,” one student shared.

Jimmy may be permanently paralyzed, but he now has a new set of wheels that will help him live his best life. While Jimmy may one day be adopted, for now, he will stay with his adoptive family as he learns to better use his new set of wheels.

Watch the video below to see Jimmy learning how to use his custom shopping cart.

Featured pictures: Facebook