WHY
CHOOSE AN EDDIES WHEELS CART?
UK phone number +44 208 964 4057 from outside the UK or 020 8964 4057 from inside
I became involved in carts for dogs when two of my GSD’s, father and son, were diagnosed with CDRM. Initially I was very much against the whole idea but finally decided it was for Prince to make the decision not me. I now have a wealth of experience with K9’s, Dogmobiles and Eddies Wheels carts. I owned several of each.
I had been given an American K9. Without trying it I was put off by the bulk and Heath Robinson construction method. Then I saw an advert for the Dogmobile with it’s promise of allowing the dog to lie down while in it. I fell for this and bought one. When it was finally needed we were fortunate in that Prince was by then 13 years old so lively but not boisterous and there were two of us men to put him into it at almost all times. On the odd days when we had to put him into it alone we noticed what a struggle this was. Awkward or not it gave Prince back his mobility and I sung it’s praises. The company would often tell me of people who were having problems and I would contact them to help. I collected unwanted ones and loaned them out, taking photo’s of the dogs without appreciating that we two, with our wealth of experience, could easily put the dog into it, once we had gone however the owner on their own could not manage so easily, if at all. It gradually dawned on me that they were not as good as I thought them to be. On reflection I wish I had known then of Eddies Wheels and how light they were. Prince may not have struggled so much in his last months to get around.
The K9, though cumbersome and bulky, was relatively easy to place the dog into and the design allowed the dog to still have some movement of it’s rear legs. The Dogmobile never allowed this and within 6 weeks of being in it Prince could not move his back legs at all. He never did lie down in it nor did the many dogs I subsequently loaned Dogmobiles to. I began to try to loan out only K9’s keeping the Dogmobiles for emergency only.
Via an internet e-mail community Eddie Grinnell, maker of Eddies Wheels, heard of my loaning a Dogmobile to a GSD in Birmingham owned a seventy year old couple. Within days of this happening the husband had died. Eddie contacted me and asked if he could donate one of his carts to the wife who he felt would be unable to cope with a Dogmobile alone. I gratefully accepted and it duly arrived. I took one look at this lightweight piece of kit and immediately telephoned him to enthuse about it. I wanted this cart to be made in the UK thereby avoiding the air freight and customs duties. Eddie was as enthusiastic as I was he wanted his carts to be more widely available. I learnt to weld aluminium and Eddie investigated the possibilities of shipping them in parts form for assembly in the UK. In the spring of 2002 we began by me e-mailing the measurements to Eddie who in turn would prepare the parts and drawings required. On arrival we assembled the carts cutting the cost almost in half.
Placing dogs into the various carts.
Heidi in a K9
K9. For a large dog it is necessary for the owner bring the cart up behind the dog then to stand alongside the cart before placing their hands beneath the dogs stomach and doing a somewhat awkward side lift raising the dogs legs above the saddle before lowering the animal in. Once the legs pass through the loops of the saddle simply grasping the side of the cart and raising it is enough to drop the dog into it. Fastening the various straps is easy. The drawback being the size of the cart and the high back end which makes it impossible to stand over the cart while placing the dog into it. Steel construction makes it heavy. Difficult to fit into a car.
Prince (Psycho) trying to cope with a Dogmobile
Dogmobile. One has to release a lever on the side before pressing the seat against spring pressure to flatten it to the ground. Then lock the lever to hold it in the down position. Then standing over the cart lift the dog and make it sit down on the seat while trying to guide it’s paws into bootees which are stitched to the straps holding the foam seat on. Holding the dog onto the seat one must then release the lever causing the cart to lift up as it does one must then quickly fasten the chest strap before the dog moves off. And then fasten the other straps. In practice the dog will either try to walk away while the cart is being raised causing one to have to begin again, slip off backwards or slip a leg through so only one is on the platform. The other fun thing is when the shaft comes up on the inside of the dogs front leg. Either way one has to begin again. The dog is sitting flat on a platform making the cart very unstable if used by a lively dog on uneven ground. Of steel construction it is heavy, in some cases twice as heavy as an Eddies Wheels. Fits easily into a car.
Dogmobiles cart for a Dachshund. Dottie looks like Ben Hur in this contraption.
Eddies own Daisy in an Eddies Wheels. Daisy was the star of a Vets convention at the University of Tennessee where on the final day many of the vets queued up to have their pictures taken with her plus Daisy again proving that you can lie down in an Eddies Wheels !!
Domino minutes after being put into an Eddies Wheels
Prince (Psycho) seconds away from chasing me in his Eddies Wheels
Eddies Wheels. No high rear obstruction allows the cart to be brought up behind the dog and for the owner to stand over the cart and do a straight lift just high enough to clear the saddle which is lying just inches from the ground. Lowering the legs through the saddle loops and raising the side shaft is enough to drop the dog into the cart. Closing the yoke, fastening the chest strap and the dog is off. The centre of gravity is good because the dogs legs hang naturally. Aluminium construction. Very light. Fits easily into a car.
I probably have more experience of placing dogs in various carts than anyone else in the world and of the many true verifiable stories there was an octogenarian couple in Wyndham. Loaned a K9 for their GSD Ruff they simply could not manage to put him into it. I loaned them an Eddies Wheels and Ruff lived for a further year with them putting him into it between them. The husband with arthritis could not manage the locking pins while his wife was partially sighted. He guided her hand to where the pins needed to go and Ruff was off.
Dave a strapping thirty year old had been told by Dogmobile that his seventy year old mother would cope with putting Prince into it alone. Prince was a lunatic of a GSD that I renamed Psycho. I loaned Dave a Dogmobile. Prince kept falling out of it and Dave could only just manage to put him into it alone. A K9 became available and Dave sung it’s praises over the Dogmobile then an Eddies came up and we placed Prince into it and ran because he chased me clear across the park! “Never seen him move like that before Jim. He almost caught you.” Shouted a delighted Dave who later compared them as “He started off with a lorry, switched to a car and now has an E Type Jaguar convertible.”
A middle aged woman in Northwood bought a Dogmobile for her GSD. She simply could not manage to put him into it. I felt so sorry for Hannibal that we used to drive 30 miles every day to put him into it and take him for a walk. How could he have a cart yet be unable to go out? A woman who is now a friend in Manchester phoned in tears “Does my Harry have to die because I cannot get him into this damned cart?” I drove up with a K9 and Joyce easily put Harry into it alone.
Sheba a GSD in Watford plodded on in a K9 but flew around the park once in an Eddies Wheels. Cairo a Newfoundland featured on BBC News could not use a Dogmobile walking frame at all. These are basically a pair of suede knickers hanging in a frame. I loaned him a K9 which he managed to use and then an Eddies which he loved to use.
Teddy a cross bull mastiff refused to move in a Dogmobile. He would not accept having to sit on his back legs. I returned with a K9 and he dragged his owner to the park when she intended going to the shops. Eventually, human nature being what it is I had to stop loaning carts out through losing many when the owners failed to return them once they were no longer needed.
History of the cartmakers
K9 were designed by a vet and are therefore correct for the well being of the dog. The limbs are allowed whatever movement they can achieve. They are however dated and cumbersome arriving in almost kit form. Dogmobile were invented by a farmer for his puppy border collie injured in a accident. The pup was paralysed and grew up in the cart. Lying down in it became natural. Dogmobile purchased the idea. They have no first hand ownership knowledge of paraplegic animals. Eddie is an engineer who has owned and still owns paraplegic animals. I have had two dogs with CDRM and have placed scores of dogs into carts as well as being a founder member of an e-mail community dedicated to CDRM.
For most people the decision to purchase a cart is probably the first time they have ever purchased one. Most people are sceptical as to whether or not the pet will accept it. With no previous experience it is very easy to purchase the wrong type of cart. On arrival however this is all too often put down to the fact that it’s the pets fault. “There I knew he/she wouldn’t accept it” In fact most pets will accept the proper cart it’s the badly designed heavy carts that they will not accept. Following the publication of my article Chariots of Fire a woman ordered an Eddies Wheels. While awaiting it’s arrival she told a man in the park that she had ordered a cart for her GSD. He said she should cancel it. They were useless. He had bought a cart for his Labrador who refused to use it. The dog had been put to sleep. Weeks later she met him again. When he saw her dog dashing around in his Eddies Wheels the man started crying. “I can never let my wife see this. It will break her heart. We never knew carts like this existed.” It was this story that fired me up to get these carts made here. I want above all to know that when the anxiously awaited box arrives the cart is going to work, the animal is going to regain it’s ability to get around. I do not want to send something out that may or may not work or that the recipient may or may not be able to assemble and use. If for any reason the cart does not work then I am available to talk you through it on the phone or for the cost of fuel to come and get the animal going myself if necessary.
Our aim is to make what I consider to be the world’s best cart available at a price that does not include the crippling US airfreight and UK import duty and to give paralysed animals in the UK and Europe the best chance of prolonging their all too short lives. Before we colluded on making these here the imported price of an Eddies wheels or a K9 for a German Shepherd Dog was approaching £600 once airfreight and duty were added thereby allowing locally made inferior carts a market.
Doggon Wheels
Since compiling this I have examined my first Doggon Wheels cart. I will shortly own it and supply a photograph. Shoddy was my first impression. Similar to the Dogmobile walking frame in that it employs a flexible harness as it’s rear support. One is expected to lift the entire weight of the dogs rear while clipping this harness into place using plastic dog collar type fastening held into place by jubilee clips. One had already broken off. It was a nightmare to use. Given free to Mr & Mrs Summerfield by a distraught owner who had to have her GSD put to sleep through inability to cope with the task of putting him into this cart the Summerfield’s struggled, then saw an Eddies and immediately ordered one. I mentioned this to the worldwide CDRM e-mail community I belong to. It created a discussion. Here is an actual message from a Marcy Raunch in the USA.
“To that
point, about a year ago, I met another person with a dog in a cart. She had
a Doggon and I had an Edddies. She was curious about the Eddies as we were
covering ground much more easily. So….I suggested she try (as the dogs were
the same size). Well, after she tried the Eddies cart, she started crying.
She was amazed at how easy it was for her dog to use and also how easy it
was for her to put the dog in. He tears were because she could not afford
to run out and get another cart.
Personally,
I used to call the Eddies cart “the Porsche”. Please understand, I am not
knocking any other carts since I have not used anything but the Eddies…but
if I ever have to do it again…it will be an Eddies.”
Marcy,
Woof-angel, Bandit, Echo and the cat trio.
It is stories like this that make me determined to make Eddies the first choice in carts. I AM knocking the others. I have them all and none come close to “the Porsche” which is an Eddies.
It is important to measure the dog with a straight edge. Place something solid either end of the area being measured and measure the gap in between. (see chart on last page)
UK Prices for Eddies Wheels are as follows
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