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Home Depot employees help build wheelchair for paralyzed dog

Wally the rat terrier has a new wheelchair, thanks to kind employees at a New Tampa, Florida, Home Depot.

"We live in a time when people are pretty self-centred and greedy and it's all about profits. This was just outstanding. I haven't experienced anything like this before," Wally's owner, Rebecca Pierce, told FOX 13 News.

Last month, 12-pound Wally started suffering from partial paralysis, likely caused by a herniated disc in his spine.

"He looked like a seal. He was using his front paws to get around. He'd either be sitting side-saddle or dragging his legs behind him," said Pierce.

Inspired by the animal wheelchairs she'd seen on YouTube, Pierce headed to her local Home Depot to make a temporary chair for her pup.

There, employees Debbie Klaczynski and Greg Worrell were eager to lend a hand — and spent two hours helping Pierce build the perfect wheelchair for Wally.

"Rebecca was just really down. It was just, her day was done. This is her dog, all she had. It's her love. And anything we could do to make it better, made our experience that much more," Worrell said.

When Pierce tried to pay for the materials, Home Depot management insisted on covering the costs.

"She's going to have an incredible amount of bills with this guy. This was an easy fix for us," Klaczynski said.

It's been two weeks since Wally received his makeshift wheelchair. Thanks to appointments with a puppy chiropractor, he's started to regain strength in his hind legs, FOX 13 News reported. In the meantime, he's still getting around in his Home Depot chair.

Wally's wheelchair was inspired by other famous animals on wheels. Here are some of our favourites:

Frostie the snow goat borrowed Leon Trotsky's wheelchair to take his first steps.

See Leon Trotsky use the chair below.

The piglet with the hilarious name, Chris P. Bacon, got around using a makeshift wheelchair made from K'Nex pieces.

And in 2011, Zip the border collie ran an agility course in his wheelchair.