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Maxxi On The Move
By Regan Michelle White
On June 2, black Lab/Golden Retriever mix, Maxxi Lee Page
will celebrate her 15th birthday. With parents Lisa and Jim and
black cats Phantom and Jackson surrounding her, she plans to celebrate in a
small, festive way at home in Salem, Massachusetts. “We’ll cook her a boneless
chicken breast on the grill,” Lisa said. “She’ll have a little bit of dessert,
too. I figure at age 15, she deserves it!”
Maxxi’s spirited bark in the background of our phone
conversation belies the physical problems old age has brought upon her. Eight
years ago, Maxxi was diagnosed with degenerative bone disease. The first signs
began when Lisa and Jim noticed that her hind legs were going lame. “We’ve seen
a lot of vets since then,” Lisa said. “Some thought that she may have injured
herself really early in life, others say it’s just something you can’t do
anything about it just happens.” Regardless of the cause, it has been clear
that since her diagnosis eight years ago, Maxxi’s condition has progressively
deteriorated.
“Early on we thought it was just her weight. She’s always
been a heavy girl a very big dog,” Lisa said. “By the time she was older we
couldn’t do a whole lot about it except take care of her.” Eventually, the
Pages had to carry Maxxi outside to go the bathroom and lift her up. Knowing
that Maxxi’s quality of life was being compromised, Lisa and a friend
researched dog wheelchairs on the internet. Their searches of the worldwide web
uncovered Doggon’ Wheels, an internet based dog wheelchair company that seemed
to fit Maxxi’s needs perfectly. “I always thought that I would never put my dog
in a wheelchair,” Lisa said. “Then I found Doggon’ Wheels and they are the
nicest group of people. I had to measure Maxxi all over because every wheel
chair is fitted to each dog. To this day I know I could call them on a whim and
they’d help me with whatever I needed.”
When they received the wheelchair, the Pages didn’t expect
Maxxi to take to it right away. The wheels strap on with both a front and back
harness, necessitating that Maxxi be walked into it. “That first time we put
her in it, we kind of dragged her along at first. Jim had some biscuits and of
course, she’ll eat anything. Following those biscuits she got the hang of it in
a matter of minutes,” Lisa said. She added, “We were extremely, extremely
lucky. And thank God for the food!”
This April marked the anniversary of Maxxi getting her
wheels, and a bit of her freedom back. She can’t zip and run around in her
wheelchair because at her age it takes her a long time to walk regardless.
However, her wheels have definitely made a difference. “We’ll walk around the
block. We live between a park and water and sometimes we’ll walk to the park
and she’ll lay down in the grass. It still takes her a long time, but it seems
that once she stretches her legs she does a lot better,” Lisa said.
Maxxi’s mode of transportation definitely gets mixed
reviews. “Some people will come up and say ‘Bless you, for doing that!’ and
other people are just appalled that I would do this for my dog, but they don’t
see how she is at home – how exuberant and full of life and how heartily she
eats. All they see is a big dog in a wheelchair,” Lisa said. However, her close
knit neighbors are all big fans. “She’s like the icon on the street,” Lisa said
with a laugh.
Maxxi is Lisa’s first dog, purchased at six weeks old
through the friend of a friend 15 years ago. “Getting a dog is the best thing
I’ve ever done in my life,” Lisa gushed. “I’ve never had any other kind of dog,
but I know from Maxxi that Labs are just so good with people and so good with
kids. If anything happened to her I would definitely get another one like, the
next day. My husband feels the same way.” Over the years, Lisa has found that
Maxxi has taught her patience. Due to Maxxi’s wheels, she also has a greater
understanding for people with disabilities. “The sidewalks are really so
narrow,” Lisa said. “I feel so bad for people in wheelchairs.” Maxxi has also
taught her how to take life one day at a time and not to worry what tomorrow
will bring. “We just deal with whatever life brings us,” she said. And Maxxi
keeps rolling with the punches, thanks to her new set of wheels.
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