There’s a special greeter when entering Hartville Vet Clinic — a 6-year-old dachshund named Ally.

Ally wheels around the office in her very own doggie wheelchair. She became a member of the Hartville Vet Clinic three years ago when her owners brought her in with two ruptured discs in her back, ultimately causing Ally’s paralysis in her back legs.

The ruptured discs is a condition predisposed in dachshunds, according to her new owner Dr. Marty Harris, of Hartville Vet. Ally’s previous owners had small children and busy lives so they bravely decided to give her up to someone who could take the time to give her the care she requires, said Harris.

Ally is only in her wheelchair when she is at work, where she spends her days greeting clients and keeping the staff in line, according to her message on the Web site hartvillevet.com.

“I have friends come in to see me all day!! How lucky could one pup get,” Ally said in her letter. “My four legged friends bring in their people and we just can't get enough of the visiting thing.”

She is a very happy-go-lucky dog who seems to love being around people and other pets, which is one reason Harris said euthanizing her was not an option.
“Her quality of life is 110 percent,” Harris said. “The only thing she can’t do is jump on things.”

“You don’t put people down because they are disabled,” she added.

Harris said the only time Ally is in her wheelchair other than when she is in the office is when she goes for a walk with the other four dachshunds she has. Harris said she expresses Ally’s bladder and bodily functions for her, but Ally does wear a diaper for normal leakage, becuase she does not have control over her bladder as a result of her condition.

“She acts like a normal dog, chews bones and plays with toys,” Harris added.
Ally enjoys her life of greeting clients and co-workers at the clinic according to her letter and she loves those around her."

“I go home at night with the one I call Mom, but I really belong to the whole family at Hartville Vet Clinic,” Ally said in her letter. “They are my family and so are you that's why I keep coming to work everyday.”