Welcome To Broken Biscuits Dog Park, The World's First Play Area Just For Disabled Dogs
Cutest dog park ever? You bet, and it's making a huge difference for disabled pups.
shymar27 | Shutterstock The internet is full of happy, uplifting, cute little stories about adorable canines finally finding their forever homes. But all too often, what's missing from these stories is a sobering fact: Experts say disabled dogs tend to wait far longer to be adopted than others — if they ever get adopted at all.
A U.K. charity called Broken Biscuits is aiming to change that, advocating for senior and disabled dogs to find the people called to love them. And recently, Broken Biscuits reached a milestone in their mission: a dog park specifically designed for dogs on wheelchairs to get their doggo "driver's license."
Broken Biscuits dog park is the world's first play area just for disabled dogs.
Cassie Carney first formed Broken Biscuits more than 15 years ago with the mission to help disabled dogs find homes and to help dog owners with the skills and equipment they need to care for dogs that become disabled.
She and her volunteers home around a dozen paraplegic dogs themselves at Carney's facility in the city of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. But they also provide wheelchairs and other equipment to owners of paraplegic dogs who cannot afford the devices that allow them to "get back their run," in the charity's parlance.
Now, they've taken their work one step further with the Broken Biscuits Dog Park, believed to be the world's first dog park specifically for disabled dogs. It's a park for disabled dogs and their owners to gather and play, sure, but it's also a place for disabled dogs to learn how to get back to being active after accidents and health challenges that have left them disabled.
The park provides a training ground for disabled dogs to earn their 'driver's license' in their new wheelchairs.
Broken Biscuits Dog Park has everything you'd expect from a dog park: play areas, dog runs, a cafe for the humans, and even spaces like stables and small dog houses for the puppers who are on the shyer side and need a place to retreat.
But the real centerpiece of the dog park is its race track and "skate rink" for dogs and their wheelchairs. There, Broken Biscuits hosts probably the most adorable "driver's ed" course you can possibly think of, where disabled dogs do their “learner driver’s test” to get their license to cruise in their puppy wheelchairs.
The dog park isn't just for paraplegic dogs, of course. Broken Biscuits hosts blind and deaf dogs, too, as well as just regular old doggos who like to run around with their disabled canine compatriots just as much as they do the other dogs at the usual dog parks in the neighborhood.
As the charity put it in an Instagram post, “Tri-paws, blind, deaf, paraplegics, IVDD warriors, congenital birth deformities, amputees, and more: different is great. Let’s celebrate it loud and proud." What's dog-language for "amen?"
Disabled dogs often wait up to four times as long to be adopted.
Broken Biscuits isn't just some heart-warming story; they're serving a very real need. Disabled dogs spend up to four times longer in shelters, according to statistics. Even elderly dogs struggle to find homes, with only 25% of dogs over 7 years old adopted, compared to 60% of younger dogs.
Some statistics have shown that disabled dogs are up to 60% likely to never find a forever home, largely because of the much higher costs involved, for everything from veterinary care to equipment like those adorable puppy wheelchairs.
Capuski | Getty Images | Canva Pro
Broken Biscuits' work directly addresses these gaps by providing both the mobility aids and the training needed by dogs and owners to manage disabled dogs' conditions. They also provide trained professionals to help newly disabled dogs learn how to use their equipment.
"Just like with disabled humans, a life-changing injury or illness need not be a life-ending one," the charity says. "We know from experience that the right information and support, at the right time, can be life changing." And you need only take a passing glance at all the fun going down at the Broken Biscuits Dog Park to see that mission is absolutely succeeding.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
