Chris P Bacon, the piglet in a wheelchair from Florida of YouTube
fame, has got company in our very own Mumbai. Though she has never been
featured on YouTube nor has she inked a three-book deal like Chris,
Maggie, a nine-year-old black cocker spaniel in Colaba, is also fitted with a wheelchair. And, like him, Maggie also doesn't seem to be bothered by the contraption.
There is company, right here in Mumbai, for Florida-based Chris P Bacon, the piglet in a wheelchair. She is much older, has never featured on YouTube, nor inked a three-book deal. She is not even from the same genus. Maggie, a nine-year-old black cocker spaniel lives in Colaba. But she has one thing in common with Chris. She is fitted with a wheelchair too. And, like him, she too doesn't believe that she is different.
For seven years now, Maggie has been using wheels as hind legs. "She was two years old when both her hind legs suddenly gave way," said Gulshan Sachdeva, a resident of Veena Towers in Colaba. Maggie was born in the Sachdeva household to their older pets, in a brood of five. "She was very playful. Her rear legs were rendered paralyzed when she injured her spine trying to chase something under a car," said the 56-year-old Gulshan. Her 62-year-old husband, Rajendra, is a business owner.
The family was shattered but never once thought of putting Maggie down. "As I despaired, I also prayed at the Siddhivinayak temple," she said. Her prayers were answered when "help came along". "A couple residing in the neighbouring Bhaktawar building suggested a wheelchair and told me of a firm in the US. My son and daughter-in-law placed an order immediately," Gulshan said, adding the contraption cost Rs 50,000.
"Maggie took to the set of wheels immediately. She is my inspiration. She is very loving, very patient, very accepting, never complains, whines or throws a tantrum," said the adoring Gulshan. Maggie, who is lying next to her, opens an eye, as if to show she is listening too.
Besides Maggie, Gulshan is also "mother" to three other canines: Maggie's brother Prince, Suzy, a five-year-old labrador who was abandoned by her owner three years ago, and Chase, another two-year-old Labrador. The "children" have their own one-bedroom-hall-kitchen flat attached to the Sachdevas' on the eighth floor. The Sachdevas' "angels" also have three boys to themselves who look after them and cook their meals; a car and a driver are also set aside for them to be taken out for their walks at Oval Maidan twice a day.
At Oval, Maggie, strapped to her wheels, is the happiest as she walks across the green expanse to meet her walking-track buddies. She can't run, but she can't hide either, the happiness she feels and shares with others at being given a chance to overcome her disability.
Source :TOI , 9th June 2013
There is company, right here in Mumbai, for Florida-based Chris P Bacon, the piglet in a wheelchair. She is much older, has never featured on YouTube, nor inked a three-book deal. She is not even from the same genus. Maggie, a nine-year-old black cocker spaniel lives in Colaba. But she has one thing in common with Chris. She is fitted with a wheelchair too. And, like him, she too doesn't believe that she is different.
For seven years now, Maggie has been using wheels as hind legs. "She was two years old when both her hind legs suddenly gave way," said Gulshan Sachdeva, a resident of Veena Towers in Colaba. Maggie was born in the Sachdeva household to their older pets, in a brood of five. "She was very playful. Her rear legs were rendered paralyzed when she injured her spine trying to chase something under a car," said the 56-year-old Gulshan. Her 62-year-old husband, Rajendra, is a business owner.
The family was shattered but never once thought of putting Maggie down. "As I despaired, I also prayed at the Siddhivinayak temple," she said. Her prayers were answered when "help came along". "A couple residing in the neighbouring Bhaktawar building suggested a wheelchair and told me of a firm in the US. My son and daughter-in-law placed an order immediately," Gulshan said, adding the contraption cost Rs 50,000.
"Maggie took to the set of wheels immediately. She is my inspiration. She is very loving, very patient, very accepting, never complains, whines or throws a tantrum," said the adoring Gulshan. Maggie, who is lying next to her, opens an eye, as if to show she is listening too.
Besides Maggie, Gulshan is also "mother" to three other canines: Maggie's brother Prince, Suzy, a five-year-old labrador who was abandoned by her owner three years ago, and Chase, another two-year-old Labrador. The "children" have their own one-bedroom-hall-kitchen flat attached to the Sachdevas' on the eighth floor. The Sachdevas' "angels" also have three boys to themselves who look after them and cook their meals; a car and a driver are also set aside for them to be taken out for their walks at Oval Maidan twice a day.
At Oval, Maggie, strapped to her wheels, is the happiest as she walks across the green expanse to meet her walking-track buddies. She can't run, but she can't hide either, the happiness she feels and shares with others at being given a chance to overcome her disability.
Source :TOI , 9th June 2013
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