Meet Stevie the Wonderdog! We’ll get to what exactly makes him so wonderous in a quick second!
First, take a look at how cute this big boy is.
The only thing that I could say to make him even cuter?
He loves playing in puddles. YEAH.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDJ6pO0j7Wm/
Stevie is amazing not because he’s super cute and playful (which he is) but because
he is a dog with special needs.
According to his ‘About’ page on Facebook:
“Stevie is a 5 year old yellow lab with Cerebellar Hypoplasia.
“He loves his ducky more than anything, but puddle dancing is a close second. Our only rule in the house: Ducky doesn’t go outside.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDEcqZzDFL8/
Confused about what Cerebellar Hypoplasia is? Well, so was I.
Embrace Pet Insurance describes Cerebellar Hypoplasia as:
“a disease that denotes an inadequate development of the cerebellum, a section of the brainstem largely responsible for modulating motor impulses.
“Affected dogs and cats therefore fail to move normally,
“especially when it comes to maintaining normal balance, posture, and coordination.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CC2XWVUjUox/
Lucky for Stevie, this disease is not quite as grim as it sounds!
“Since the disease tends not to progress, affected pets with an ability to perform basic functions adequately enough to
“enjoy a good quality of life have an excellent prognosis.”
Safe to say, Stevie is still having a pretty dang good time!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMJOxrDNq4/
Stevie definitely does flail around, but it makes his puddle jumping all the cuter!
There’s something so incredible about seeing this dog having the time of his life despite his illness!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCFMkU0D_w_/
Part of that is thanks to Stevie’s hardworking, loving family. Not many people would be able to properly take care of a dog with a disease like Stevie’s!
And it’s thanks to his ducky too, of course!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBnw6krDRSh/
Needless to say, the internet absolutely popped off for Stevie.
His puddling jumping and absolute photogenicity earned him almost 100k followers on Instagram and 200k followers on Facebook!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBsxxbXDnrz/
Even more amazing, Stevie’s family rescued him! Which means they knew about his condition and still opted to take him in, adopt him and protect him!
Those are some seriously golden hearted folks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBk5CSgDxuC/
JoAnna Haugen from Matador Network really put it best in her article about adopting special needs animals:
“Many people see physical deformities in an animal as a sign of a shortcoming, but this just isn’t true.
“Nor is it true that an animal with a medical or mental problem is any less of an animal.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBHDW0lj0pd/
“The real problem is that they require extra care
—perhaps medications or a special diet—and possibly more vigilance, which sometimes equates to more money”
Many people are ill equipped to adopt a pet with no special care needed anyway, let alone a pet who will require extra surgeries or extra medications or even just extra attention!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA5hGVgDgk2/
“For people who just want to adopt a pet and not a family member, this added expense is an issue and many of
“the animals who have special needs are cast aside for more ideal models.”
Powerful wording, I love it. The way she compares these animals being bought to cars with such subtlety hits hard. But it doesn’t stop there.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAY2ar1jAMx/
“My definition of special needs doesn’t just encompass noted physical or mental issues. Many animals that are rescued have been neglected or abused, and
“they have emotional scarring that requires special attention.”
This is an extremely common scenario. It’s upsetting but that’s the reality! It’s a usual story that people have a rescue dog and their underlying psychological issues took longer to surface.
And those people have a lot of work ahead of them to try and heal that pain!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_fB240DN6x/
It’s a hard situation where a lot of animals with special needs need to be adopted but there are so few people willing or able to do the adopting.
Lucky for all of us, Stevie was an exception and was picked up into a lovely home with people who are willing to do their best for him!
Even better, they’re willing to share their adorable photos and videos with the world!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
