Giant Disabled Tortoise Takes First Steps in Walkin’ Pets Wheelchair

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Press release: Walkin’ Pets

George Bailey may not be the fastest animal on wheels, but steady wins the race. George is and 11 year old Sulcata Tortoise who his mom, Jaime Loebener saved from an exotic animal rescue in Knoxville, Tennessee. Born with a metabolic bone disease, George’s bones never fully developed in his back legs, leaving them weak and unable to support his own weight. Loebener says, “He uses his front legs to pull his way around slowly and clumsily. The bigger he’s gotten, the more difficult this has been for him. He currently weighs close to 70 pounds, but may grow to weigh over 200 pounds.”

Since a Sulcata Tortoise can live to be over 100 years old, Loebener knew she needed to find a solution to help George to walk on his own. After searching online she found Walkin’ Pets, a pet mobility company based out of New Hampshire, that had previously built a custom wheelchair for a much smaller tortoise named Scoot Reeves who weighed just a few pounds. The Walkin’ Pets team was up for the challenge. Designing a custom tortoise wheelchair with a special base featuring a convex support structure to accommodate the natural contour of George’s under shell and a harnessing system designed to expand with George as he grows. Loebener says that George took to his new wheels right away, “George’s Walkin’ Wheels wheelchair is amazing. I put George on it, and he is able to move himself around.”

Walkin’ Pets is the proven leader in pet mobility, with a 20 year record of helping to set miracles into motion. Walkin’ Pets products are designed to keep pets moving. Helping over 1.5 million pets to get back to what’s important, enjoying their family and living an active, healthier lifestyle. At Walkin’ Pets, we don’t make miracles, we just set them in motion.