-
01
When Heggie first brought Kai home, it took him 20 minutes just to climb the small set of stairs that led to her front door!
From there, Heggie began taking Kai for regular walks, three times day -- before work, right when she got home and in the evening. The walks were difficult at first, but became easier with Kai's relentless determination.
Heggie told GMA, "Literally, he went five to 10 steps, and then he would lay down and start panting. But they kept at it and each day he pushed a little harder. We went to the closest neighbor's driveway and then the next neighbor over."
-
02
Kai was also taken to water therapy, where he was able to strengthen his back legs and amp up his stamina!
Heggie also had him on a strict diet. According to Heggie, even at Kai's worst, he was filled with absolute joy and trusted her completely.
"He learned that I was gonna help him and we were gonna be OK," she said.
As the days went by, Kai was getting stronger and was about to reach small (but huge) goals, such as: walking to the end of the block, getting up on the bed, getting into the car on his own, climbing stairs, barreling to the front door and even running in the dog park.
-
03
"I look at him and forget how broken he was," Heggie said. "Now he's just a regular dog doing regular dog things like everybody else."
Now, Heggie can't imagine her life without Kai and moved to adopt him.
-
04
Kai was featured on Good Morning America due to his inspiring transformation!
-
05
"He shows you how to do a really big task literally one day at a time," said Heggie.
-
06
"He doesn’t worry about yesterday, he doesn’t worry about tomorrow, he just focuses on what needs to be done today and he does it. We can learn a lot from dogs."
We certainly can! Thank you Peggy Heggie for saving Kai!
For a weekly dose of animal-themed community challenges - Subscribe to our Newsletter!
Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Find us on Instagram!