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Hundreds of disabled pets can thank Buddha for their new lease onlife - a wheelchair for handicapped animals. Buddha the dog, thatis. The 10-year-old blue Doberman, who suffered from spinaldegeneration and disc disease, was the inspiration for Eddie'sWheels For Pets, a Shelburne Falls business that designs andconstructs wheelchairs for canines and other animals.

Leslie Grinnell, president of Eddie's Wheels, remembers the daywhen Buddha suddenly was unable to walk, dragging her back legsacross the kitchen floor. Since back surgery wasn't an option,Leslie and Eddie Grinnell carried their beloved dog around in afirewood sling, massaging her legs at night, and scrambling hereggs for breakfast. They discussed euthanasia, but Leslie swearsthat Buddha barked in protest as she lay by the woodstove. So herhusband, Eddie, a field engineer at the time, put together amakeshift cart, using the wheels from his daughter's red wagon,padding the harness with plumbing insulation.

"We put the cart on her, and she turned around, and looked at thewheels, as if saying, 'You don't expect me to walk in this, doyou?"' remembers Leslie. But she did walk, and not just walk, butfrolic in the woods, wade in the river, and play with other dogsand all while attached to a metal frame that hung on her shouldersand supported her pelvic floor. It was a pet wheelchair, an unusualsight in 1989.