A common but endearing sight here at Rocky's Rescue Center is a very special little girl skunk named Sweetie P. The thing that makes her so special, besides being a sweet natured and loving skunk, is her "cart" that enables her to get around.

               

Sweetie P. was diagnosed in January of 2004 with a degenerating spine. I had taken her in for x-rays because she suddenly could not use her back legs and was dragging herself. Part of her problem was due to the lack of the proper nutrients that skunks require, during her formative first year.

I can't stress enough, just how important the proper nutrients are for each species. The long term effects of malnutrition often do not show up for several years.

We did everything possible to help Sweetie P. with her problem but nothing worked. Unable to get around without dragging herself was very stressful and depressing for her.

Fearful that i was going to have to put her down, this past October, I found a website called "Dogs to Go." They had a picture of a small dog in a cart. I thought, oh wow, I wonder if that would work for Sweetie P. I contacted the people there and we talked about a cart made especially for Sweetie P.

They told me they'd never done one for a skunk before but would be willing to give it a go. They instructed me where to measure her at, so that we got a good fit. I sent the measurements to them, and within a week, Sweetie P. had her new cart.

The first time I put her in it, she wasn't quite sure what I was doing to her, but once she was in it, and realized she had real freedom again, she took off in her new cart. She was exploring everything. It was like watching a small child at Christmas. Now when I get her cart down, she comes over to me and wants to be put in it. She enjoys being able to go outside again, and dig in the sand, and be in the sunshine.

I will forever be in debt to the wonderful people at "Dogs To Go." Because of them, Sweetie P. has a whole new attitude and outlook on her life. It doesn't get any better than that, except walking again.

When Hope was a very tiny baby she was caught and played with by a much larger animal. She had spinal injuries that kept her from being able to walk, but we had "hope" that she would eventually recover. After many months of intensive daily water therapy along with manually exercizing her back legs, she did indeed begin to walk again. We were thrilled with her progress and even more hopeful that eventually she would was going to be releasable.

                

That hope was thrashed when we discovered that she couldn't feel her back end, so she chewed her tail to the point I had to have it amputated. She can't tell when she goes potty either. Opossum's tails are like another arm or leg would be, and they need it to survive in the wild, so without a tail, she wouldn't make it out on her own. So, she's here with us forever. She is queen of the house and spoiled rotten!