Paralyzed herding dog gets wheeled walking aid

Abayed, a six-year-old herding dog was paralyzed by a bullet to his spine two years ago.

A stranger mistook the dog, whose name means "white," for a stray dog and attempted to kill him as part of a program to cut down on strays in Jordan, the Daily Mail reported.

Abayed's owners, who are shepherds, found him howling in pain but unable to move and rushed him to the Humane Center for Animal Welfare near Amman, Jordan.

"The group, which was established in 2000, achieves this goal by rehabilitating and sheltering injured wildlife, providing free veterinary care to animals with economically disadvantaged caregivers, conducting informational programs, performing animal rescue work and supporting animal-welfare legislation. The Center opened a veterinary hospital in 2007, the first of its kind in Jordan," Supreme Master Television reported about the centre.

Margaret Ledger, the director at the shelter, saw that "it was clear that the animal wanted to live," so Abayed was not only spared from euthanasia, he was given a second chance at mobility.

Thanks to a custom-made wheeled walking aid, the determined canine can get around on his own once again. While his days of herding are officially over, Abayed still follows the goats and sheep he sees on his walks in the countryside near the shelter.

Images of the remarkable dog — darting around with the help of his new apparatus, following sheep, and resting after a hard day's walk — have gone viral, tugging at heartstrings all over the world.