A disabled dog’s wheelchair was stolen in St. Cloud, leaving a senior hospice dog unable to walk on her own and prompting police to ask the public for help.
The wheelchair belonged to Baby, a disabled senior dog cared for by The Pittie Party of Central Florida. The rescue said someone walked onto its porch and took the specialized mobility device over the weekend.
Its reaction was immediate.
“What kind of person steals a disabled, senior dog’s wheelchair?” the rescue wrote in a social media post cited by WFTV’s report on the theft.
The chair costs about $800 with shipping, according to the rescue, but its importance to Baby goes well beyond the price tag.
Baby cannot walk without the specialized chair. The rescue said losing it also made basic daily care much more difficult, including helping the dog go to the bathroom.
St. Cloud police asked the public for help
The St. Cloud Police Department shared the rescue’s appeal Monday and asked anyone who knows where the wheelchair is — or who may have taken it — to contact investigators.
Police asked people with information to call 407-891-6700, according to local coverage from WFTV.
The theft quickly attracted attention because Baby is not simply an older rescue waiting for adoption. She is one of the organization’s hospice dogs and depends on the equipment to move around.
The rescue said it was heartbroken by the theft and initially appealed for donations to help replace the wheelchair.
A new pink wheelchair is now on the way
By Tuesday night, the story had taken a more hopeful turn.
The rescue announced that Ruck9, an organization that helps dogs with mobility problems, had ordered and shipped Baby a replacement pink wheelchair, according to a follow-up report from WFTV.
The rescue also said numerous people had offered to purchase a chair or donated money after word of the theft spread.
Anyone who donated specifically toward a replacement wheelchair can request a refund, the organization said. Money left over will go toward Baby’s continuing care and other hospice dogs cared for by the rescue.
The original wheelchair, meanwhile, became the subject of a police appeal after disappearing from the St. Cloud porch.
Baby’s case has turned what could have been a simple theft report into an unusually emotional Central Florida story: an approximately $800 piece of equipment that, for one disabled senior dog, meant the difference between getting around independently and being unable to walk.
Now Baby has a replacement on the way.
And St. Cloud police want information about what happened to the one that disappeared.
