BENGALURU: Have you ever had a phase in your life when you begin to lose a loved one? Well, one such event that certainly is changing my life revolves around my four-legged canine, my best friend and, not to forget, my dear family member Gunda.

As someone rightly said and Im pretty sure most of the dog lovers would agree to this, Dogs love you more than they can love themselves. This quote perfectly syncs with the bond I share with Gunda. Heis our handsome and intelligent 11-year-old German Shepherd and a favourite amongst family and friends. Unfortunately, about a year and three months ago, he was diagnosed with spinal degeneration.

This condition is commonly known to affect the breed causing the hind legs to lose their motor control, resulting in inability to walk. After repeated consultations with a few veterinarians, we were unable to arrive at a solution and began losing hope as his age was a limiting factor.

Nevertheless, our strong and valiant Gunda restored hope in us as he did not fail to give up. He strived hard to be mobile again! This incident really changed my perspective on many things in life. If animals such as dogs stay strong, confident and positive in critical situations, why dont we as human beings embark upon the same qualities in our daily lives?

The love and affection they have for us is beyond measure and we need to understand and reciprocate the same to these incredible creatures. I have learnt to be more patient and confident in handling many situations in life.

I did not want to give up on Gunda and persistently looked for a solution to get him walk again. Tony andDebolinaGhosh,dog lovers,boosted my morale and helped me with a cart for gunda. A wheel cart was designed and customised for him and a pulley system was installed to lift and shiftGundainto cart with the help of just a person.

To date,Gunda patiently waits for me and looks forward to his walks without fail. Daily we take him out for a minimum of three walks, for exercise and to attend to Natures call. Gundais adjusted very well to his cart and runsduring his walks.

His hind legs that had gone numb earlier are now getting sensation and he moves them continuously in cart with help of suspenders. Heis now extremely cheerful, happy and has regained his lost vigour. It has been almost a year and three months since he has been walking with the help of his wheel cart. It is indeed a very big relief to see him play once again.

I must say Gunda has a lot of admirers, children to play with and continues to inspire many people. Many times, I wonder as to what went wrong with Gunda as he was a pure breed, brought up with best available care, complete nutritious dog food imported from Germany and America, feeding of egg on daily basis and right medications including joint supplements like pet joint for four years.

I wonder if veterinarians can use stem cell therapy to eliminate this problem in German Shepherds as it is close to impossible for people like us to abandon senior dogs in such conditions. Dog carts and harness to support their hind legs are not locally available and turn out to be expensive when imported.

I would be happy to help anyone who has faced a similar situation and you can contact me at the following details for any assistance. You can contact me on 9342511132 or 08023337262. You can also write me at kkcreations@gmail.com.

Excerpt from:
'Gunda changed my perspective on life' - The New Indian Express