Robbie the dog given new lease of life after spinal injury

Robbie suffered a serious spinal injury four years ago. He's been given a new lease of life after his owners spared him from euthanasia and bought him a dog wheelchair. Photo / Supplied

A dog who suffered a serious spinal injury has been given a new lease of life after his owners spared him from euthanasia and bought him a specialised wheelchair.

Border collie Robbie faced being put down four years ago when he had an accident and badly injured his spine.

He underwent surgery despite a 50 per cent chance he would lose the use of his back legs - and sadly the odds were against him. Following the surgery he was permanently disabled.

Robbie's owner Tracy couldn't face the idea of putting the dog down, so looked into the alternatives.

"After the bad news, we took him home and just said, 'What do we do now?'," she said.

"The vet said most people in this instance would choose to have the dog put to sleep, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. It was very hard to care for Robbie as a disabled dog initially, and seeing him struggle was heart-breaking."

Tracy was told only one other person had imported a wheelchair to New Zealand for their dog. The chair was very expensive, but she knew it would be worth it to enable Robbie to lead as normal a dog's life as he could.

With money from a loan, Tracy chose Robbie's new wheels and hoped for the best. The adjustment was difficult, she said, but the wheels now allowed him to get around their home and use his wheels for walks.

"He still loves to chase his tennis ball on the beach and at the local park," she said.

Tracy was now considering setting up a YouTube channel for Robbie to let his personality and his miraculous second lease on life shine.