CLAYTON, DE- A group of seventh graders at Providence Creek Academy gave a disabled puppy a second chance at life by building him a custom wheelchair — allowing the four-month-old dog to walk for the very first time.
The puppy, named Roo, was rescued from a high-kill shelter in the South and placed with a foster family through Operation Paws for Homes.
Born without front legs, Roo struggled to get around, and it was unclear what kind of mobility aid would work for a puppy of his size and condition.
Jill Trail, who has been fostering Roo, says she had never cared for a dog with such a disability and didn't have a wheelchair small enough or suited to his needs.
"It's the first time I had fostered a dog with this type of disability — you know, with missing the front legs."
Trail reached out to her friend Denise Stouffer, head of school at Providence Creek Academy in Clayton, to see if she could help find a custom mobility solution.
Stouffer says she knew exactly who to ask.
"I reached out to our computer science students and said, 'Hey, do you think we can do this?' And a group of them said, 'Yes, we can."
In just three weeks, the seventh-grade students researched, designed, and built a custom wheelchair using PVC pipe, training wheels, and their creativity. Their goal was to give Roo the mobility he never had.
Kiara Okpara, one of the students who helped build the chair, says the team drew inspiration from existing designs to guide their project.
"We looked on articles with wheelchairs that had wheels in the front, and we realized that we needed maybe small wheels in the front and large wheels in the back so it moves easier."
The students constructed the chair entirely on their own, starting with Roo's measurements and testing out different designs until they found one that worked.
When Roo visited the school Wednesday to test out his new wheels, the students finally got to see their hard work in action.
Okpara says collaborating with her classmates to help Roo was a powerful experience.
"When working as a team, it's much better than working as an individual... we can use it together to make something amazing."
Stouffer says the experience was emotional for everyone involved.
"It is definitely one of those moments that makes you teary eyed, and inspires you to just, you know, look to the future and our kids are going to have a great future."
Trail says several potential adopters have already expressed interest in Roo. Now that his wheelchair is complete, he’s one step closer to finding his fur-ever home.