Above: Ben in his cart, a gift from one of Robin's supporters. Robin drove Ben to Home for Life herself and also brought a whole chest of supplies for him.
All the way from the state of Indiana is Beninabucket - yes that is really his name. Ben is a little beagle mix, age 7, whose back was broken by a kid from the neighborhood where Ben's family lived. The boy hit him with a baseball bat - for no apparent reason and unbelievably the incident was caught on video by some of the neighbors with their smart phones who filmed the attack instead of coming to Ben's aid or stopping the cruel child from hurting the small dog. Ben was left paraplegic and unable to walk. He could only pull himself around by his front legs and the assault which injured his spine left him incontinent. A week after the attack with the baseball bat, Ben was brought to impound by his owner - in a bucket - and relinquished. And so the name stuck - Beninabucket.
Ben had the great good fortune to be recovered and rescued by Lucky Dog Retreat, a boarding kennel and also a dog rescue in Indiana. Robin, Lucky Dog's proprietor, took amazing care of Beninabucket and even adopted him out. Unfortunately ,that placement didn't work out. Ben is cute as can be but is the independent sort and even though he is disabled, he doesn't like being coddled, hugged and treated like a fur baby. The adopter had a hard time giving Ben his space and finally fed up, he had to make his boundaries known and nipped her. That brought him back to Robin's care, and after more months of searching for another adoptive home for him, she concluded a sanctuary where Beninabucket could have freedom, and companionship with dogs would be a more favorable landing for him. Robin knew he was a great dog who just needed to have the opportunity to live his life to the fullest, with people who would focus on what he could do and become, and not on how pathetic he was because of his disabilities. Beninabucket may have a cart but in his mind he is still a DOG and a beagle with important business to attend to always - notwithstanding he now has to do it on wheels. He has big soft ears, soft brown eyes, a great hound bark and is good about holding still for his para care that is needed to keep him clean and healthy. He just asks to be respected as a dog and not treated as a baby with fur. With that agreement, he has done great with Home for Life® and has provided the much needed companionship for our other little paraplegic Hilly, who is just as independent and small and mighty like him!
