Our story starts in Waverly, Alabama where Paula Peek was just trying to help a friend out. She was driving to Georgia to pick up a litter of newborn puppies for a friend. Once Paula got to the shelter, she saw another pup that wasn’t in the litter she was picking up.
The poor pupper was about to be euthanized she was told, and she said this to The Dodo:
“They had the injection [needle] out, and I was like, ‘Stop! You can’t do that in front of me.’ And I was like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ And they said, ‘He’s been here for 10 days. All of his other siblings got adopted. And he can’t walk.’
It seemed that this little pup, named Weeble, had spina bifida which is where his spinal cord won’t ever fully develop. Paula didn’t care though, and took him home to Alabama as well.
She continued:
“I said, ‘I will not have these puppies if I can’t have that dog.’ So they gave me Weeble…and after about a month of playing and healthy food and a little bit of therapy, Weeble can now walk and run. Weeble can now jump on and off the bed. He is just a wonderful, happy and healthy dog.”
Just a little hope and this pup perked right up, so inspiring.
Paula was well versed in taking care of dogs, before Weeble, she would foster newborn litters of puppies. She would make sure they were taken care of before they could find their forever homes.
In 2013, Paula found Weeble and began her journey of taking care of special needs dogs.
She started taking in dogs that had cancer, kidney diseases and dogs with spinal conditions. She is always trying to take more dogs in, but right now she is currently at maximum capacity at twenty.
Most of her four legged friends are either chihuahuas and terriers.
One of the more well known doggos in Paula’s squad is Anna Banana, she said:
“Anna Banana came with some pretty severe liver issues. We got her on a special food and we got her on some medication that regulates her blood pressure and which helps with her liver problems…and Anna Banana has now turned into queen of the house.”
I don’t know how she does it. I have a rule in my house that there can only be one dog for each hand I have (I have two). Another cute pupper is Gertie. She is a two and a half pound dog who was too small to carry a litter for breeding purposes. She was rescued by a friend of Paula’s and they gave Gertie to Paula.
She said:
“The size of this animal is mind-boggling. When she came to me, she was timid. Now she comes to you, and she knows how to sit. She is the beauty of the house.”
Why is Paula so loving to all these animals? Well she was inspired by someone else in her life…
“My great-grandmother loved animals … and I was very sick when I was young, and I stayed with her more than I went to school. And I remember how she took care of me, and she spent eight years in a nursing home, vegetative with Alzheimer’s. We need to take care of our elderly, whether they’re human or whether they’re animals. We can’t just abandon them.”
Paula could use your help on her GoFundMe to help with raising all her dog children. And when she was asked about how long she will do this, she used on word “forever.”