who are Winston's wheels
In May 2017, at the age of 9, Winston was diagnosed with a tumour on his spine. Within a short time, he lost the use of his hind legs and toileting habits.
I am a Suffolk dog lover who started a specialist wheelchair charity as a legacy to my beloved dog Winston. I created the charity following my own journey caring for my beloved late Staffordshire bull terrier Winston.
In 2017, at the age of nine, Winston began showing signs of a more pronounced swagger, which led to the diagnosis of a tumour and the loss of use in his hind legs.
Determined to give him a fighting chance and through the kindness of a stranger, we was given a specialist wheelchair that Winston could use to go to his favourite places around Sudbury.
It inspired me to set up a charity providing wheelchairs for dogs with mobility or illness to continue being dogs.
Winston had three years in his wheelchair. Everybody that knew him knew he was so happy and he did everything he did before just in a wheelchair.
He was still the same dog but his hind legs did not work.
Initially, Winston’s Wheels began as a fundraiser on Facebook to fund wheelchairs, which can cost anything between £230 to £800 depending on the dog's size.
Just three months after Winston’s passing we received charity status and have been able to make it his legacy.
The charity currently has over 300 wheelchairs that are all out with dogs across England and Northern Ireland.
The charity now sees vets and dog physiotherapists recommending owners to come to Winston's Wheels which has allowed us to help in excess of 700+ dogs.
We raise funds through selling merchandise and holding raffles on our Facebook charity group.
We also attend as many dog shows as we can to promote the awareness of life after disabilities in dogs, as well as publicise the charity, and as always to raise funds to help even more dogs stay mobile