After death of paraplegic dog, owner wants to donate cart

Craig Mosher has lost his best friend, a paraplegic pit bull.

Loois had to be put down last week.

Now, Mosher wants to donate a specially made cart that he used to take Loois on vigorous walks around their Suncrest neighborhood in south Stevens County.

“He’ll always be in my heart,” Mosher said.

A retired police officer from California, Mosher adopted Loois in 2000 after the dog was abandoned from a pit bull fighting operation.

In 2004, Loois was paralyzed in the hind legs when surgery to repair the dog’s spinal column went awry.

Mosher came up with a system for exercising the dog using a sling to hold up his hind legs and later a harness, cart and stirrup system.

The Spokesman-Review produced a video story on Mosher and Loois in 2007, and that video was posted to YouTube, where it has received more than 118,000 hits.

Loois was put down on Thursday after suffering from degeneration of spinal disks. Mosher said the animal was in a great deal of pain, but didn’t show it.

He said the two were so close that Loois was like a family member. “The grief is still there,” he said. But he added, “It was an honor and a privilege taking care of him.”

Mosher no longer needs the small cart that was built to hold Loois’ hindquarters, and he would like to give it to another owner of a full-sized paraplegic dog. The dog needs to be about 85 pounds or larger, he said.

Mosher can be reached at (509) 979-6629.