It was easy to spot Howie, the lovable little beagle among the crowd on Flytrap Brewing’s patio.
Just look for the kids.
Howie continues to be a kid magnet since bursting on the scene in 2016 as an accidental goodwill ambassador for animal adoption, as well as people and animals dealing with handicaps.
This particular spring evening, Howie was attracting youngsters and their parents, drawn to the 20-pound dynamo cruising the scene in his wheelchair. The two-wheeled getup helps him get around, since he can’t use the lower half of his body due to a fractured spinal cord.
Howie was rescued from an abusive situation in the spring of 2016 by the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Animal Protective Services. Although details about what exactly happened to Howie are murky, staff at Protective Services think he was stepped on at a very young age, perhaps right after birth.
Howie Finds A Home
According to Howie’s owner Mose Highsmith, a contact in the Brunswick County Sheriff’s office reached out to him about a dog with no use of his back legs that had just been rescued. The caller told Highsmith, an attorney with the Sheriff’s office, that the dog was just too full of life to be euthanized, and asked him if he and his wife Josie would foster the dog.
The Highsmiths, who already had a rescue dog Gypsy, took in Howie. An attempt to place him with a new home in Wake County didn’t work out, and soon Howie had a forever home with his foster family.
Mose and Josie set about trying to figure-out how to deal with dog’s unique situation of not being able to walk or control his bowels and bladder.
One of the ideas they had was to create a Facebook page, called “How’s Howie” to help friends and those who’d already met the dog keep up with his progress, as well as try to connect with people knowledgeable about caring for handicapable animals like Howie.
A support community quickly formed, raising money for the Highsmiths to purchase a wheelchair for Howie. Today, roughly two years later, How’s Howie still has 1,886 followers.
“We had so many questions from people who met Howie when we’d come out to public places. People wanted to know what happened to him, they were interested in his physical therapy, they just wanted to keep tabs on him,” Mose said, adding, “Now Howie’s got Facebook friends from England, Ireland, the middle east, you name it.”
Improvise, Adapt and Overcome
Caring for Howie has come with challenges for the Highsmiths. They found it difficult to find dog sitters because of his special needs, and they weren’t comfortable putting him in a kennel when going on vacations. As a solution, they bought a camper and take him and Gypsy along for romps on beaches and other fun places.
When not on vacation, Mose drives 12 miles from work to home each day during his lunch break to express Howie’s bladder, then fit him back into his male wrap (he goes through four or five a day).
“He’s a little more work than the average dog,” Mose said. “I have learned to do things that I thought I never thought I’d do, but it’s not unbearable. In exchange for all of it, he is the happiest, friendliest little dog, loves every person, is just the most lovable dog I’ve ever seen.”
That lovability really resonates with kids, something the Highsmiths have turned into learning experiences. Although Howie can’t become certified as a therapy dog due to his diaper situation, they take him to 4-H clubs, elementary schools, and other places to show that animals–and people–with disabilities have a lot to offer.
“A couple months ago it was national reading day, I took Howie to Belville Elementary to read a book about Trouper, a three legged dog. When the school found out Howie was coming, they changed locations from a classroom to the auditorium to fit more kids in there,” said Mose, adding that people come up to them all the time who have a handicapped pet or relative or know somebody in a similar situation.
The smiles and goodwill are motivating and rewarding for Mose, who does have one regret about Howie.
“It doesn’t bother me that I have to put him in diapers, or that he’s in a wheelchair. I’m just sad he can’t wag his tail,” he said.
For those who’ve had the opportunity to meet Howie, they’ll tell you it’s easy to see his excitement even without the tail.
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