A dog left paralyzed after being intentionally hit by a car. One who had parts of all her legs chopped off. Another maimed by a human.
These are all stories of horrific animal abuse — but also ones of survival, resilience and inspiration.
Meet The Unstoppable Dogs, a group of more than a dozen canines with a range of disabilities. Nearly all of the dogs are paralyzed or missing limbs as a result of cruelty and neglect. And, in many cases, they were abandoned in a time of need.
But now, after being rescued and rehabilitated, The Unstoppable Dogs bring joy and inspiration to humans through animal-assisted therapy, visiting places like nursing homes, hospitals, charity events and schools.
Despite past traumatic experiences, The Unstoppable Dogs haven’t lost their love for life. That much is evident in a video recently shared to social media where the dogs — most of whom need wheelchairs or prosthetics to get around — are seen running wild on a California beach.
“They don’t let their disabilities define who they are,” said Debbie Pearl, owner of The Unstoppable Dogs and founder of The Unstoppable Ranch, a nonprofit with a mission to open a sanctuary for special needs dogs in Huntington Beach, California.
“They’re so grateful to be alive, and I think that’s just a very powerful thing,” Pearl added. “My dogs are so joyful every single day. They are so excited to meet people every day, they’re so excited just to be running free, to be alive. It’s contagious, really, it’s contagious for people to be around them.”
The Unstoppable Dogs began around 12 years ago with Eddie, a terrier who had been abused and left on the street paralyzed. “Eddie was dragging himself through the streets and people were literally walking by and doing nothing,” Pearl said.
Pearl already had a history of working with dogs. She began her career training dogs for television and movies before launching a nonprofit focused on animal-assisted therapy called Dream Fetchers.
After Dream Fetchers rescued Eddie, Pearl noticed a “power” he had in connecting with so many people. That led her to rescue and rehabilitate more disabled dogs, eventually with a focus on those who were also survivors of abuse.
“I feel disabled dogs, especially dogs who are survivors of abuse, have this incredible power because they’ve all survived the unthinkable,” Pearl said. “They’re still here to tell their story of survival and that if you never give up hope, anything is possible. That’s really powerful for so many people who are struggling with things.”
The pack of Unstoppable Dogs includes Zoe, who had the lower parts of all four of her legs cut off while in Egypt. After being rescued and brought over to America, Zoe got back on her feet thanks to four prosthetic legs.
“Here’s this dog that was literally cast aside, she was nothing but one of a million street dogs on the street trying to survive this horrific act of cruelty,” Pearl said. “And now she’s getting this chance, a second chance.”
Earlier this year, Zoe spent some time with two-time Paralympian and USC track and field freshman Ezra Frech. The two ran on a track together in what Frech described as a “surreal moment.”
“You have man with prosthetic and dog with prosthetic running together, defying societal odds in a way,” Frech said. “So it was very special.”
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