Benny and His Wheelchair Inspires Thousands

Meet Benny. His inspirational story was recently featured in People Magazine as he inspires thousands with his touching story.

Benny was born at an orphanage for special needs animals named Bosley’s Place. He is a Goldendoodle that was born with a spinal defect that caused him to be paralyzed in his hind leg. After about two weeks of his mother having trouble nursing him, he was bottle-fed by the founder and director, Jennifer Siegel until he was weaned and ready to be adopted.

Today, Benny is 7-months-old. He has a wheelchair strapped to his body as support to help him move around. Benny was plunged into the spotlight when a 72 second video showed him using a wheelchair ramp at his home in Acworth for the first time. The video was viewed over 140,000 times.

Benny is used to the spotlight. He was raised by a woman named Elizabeth Williams on an animal rescue ranch in the northwestern corner of Cobb named the Tucker Farm since he was 5 weeks old. Since then, she posted daily photos and videos of Benny and other rescues online. The followers are particularly interested in Benny. He’s able to bring such joy to their day, and have brightened their lives in ways Elizabeth had never thought possible.

When Benny came into Elizabeth’s care, he started physical therapy immediately. This proved to be useless, as there were no improvements. The next step was to have Benny examined by neurologists at the University of Georgia and Auburn University. It was there that he was diagnosed with a severe spinal deformity. This caused him to be paralyzed from the shoulders back and he would never be able to walk on his own.

Despite the grim diagnosis and the obstacles faced, Benny was always a joyful dog. He didn’t let his disability stop him from having fun with all the animals on the farm. Elizabeth set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Benny’s Wheelchair and future medical treatments. They had received a whopping $20,000.

Soon, his customized wheelchair was manufactured by a company based in New Hampshire named Walkin’ Pets. After the demonstration video, they got the call from People and Benny was featured in the May publication. It wasn’t long before Benny’s social media following grew and his fans from all over the world began to flood him with messages of support.