Last summer, Beth and Paul Teutul of Orange County Choppers called us to help them care for their beloved bull mastiff, Gus. Gus had a front leg amputation in an effort to cure him of hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer. The first time Beth brought Gus here for us to evaluate and measure him for a cart, he was very weak from the trauma of surgery. It took three of us to hold him up to take his measurements for a front wheel cart. To help tide them over while we built the cart, we fitted Gus with a Helpemup Harness so that they could manually assist him in the meantime.
Gus was a 165 lb. bull mastiff. Dogs carry 65-70% of their body weight on their forelimbs, so Gus was having to carry to about 115 lbs. on his remaining front leg. In order to do so, he was compensating by tucking his rear legs forward for balance. He was having a really hard time, as was Beth, who is a small woman with a huge heart and a strong back.
A couple of weeks later, Paul and Beth Teutul along with the crew from their reality TV show came to pick up Gus's cart and record it on video. We were relieved to see Gus feeling better, and he was very patient with us as we introduced him to his wheels. The camera crew couldn't have been nicer about showing us off in the best light. When they left we were hopeful that as Gus regained strength and confidence, the cart would help the Teutuls provide him with the best quality of life for as long as possible. Sadly, Gus passed away on December 15th.
Posted: to Eddie's News on Thu, Dec 23, 2010
Updated: Thu, Dec 23, 2010