Paralyzed Owen Sound dog, Eddie, to be featured in film debuting Saturday

Angela Parker says she hopes an upcoming documentary that features the story of her paralyzed dog Eddie will highlight for people the value of adopting rescued and special needs animals.

“We hope that people get out of the documentary the importance of adoption and choosing to adopt dogs versus going to breeders. And also just how many dogs there are out there who need to be rescued and who need help,” the Owen Sound resident said Wednesday.

“And with Eddie’s story specifically, we hope that people take away that special needs dogs aren’t that different and that they should consider adopting a special needs dog. It doesn’t take anyone special to be able to adopt some of them and they need as much love and they deserve it as much as any other dog out there does.”

Parker, her husband Sunil Mehta and their dogs, including Eddie, appear in the 90-minute TVO Original film Rescuing Rex, which is set to debut Saturday at 9 p.m. on TVO and via streaming at tvo.org.

The documentary primarily explores the growing popularity of international dog adoptions, which the filmmakers describe as a “new social movement driven by a desire to do good and fuelled by irresistible puppy pics on Instagram,” and what the new trend means for the animals, their caregivers and society.

Parker first appears as a member of a team with the Canadian dog rescue charity Redemption Paws, which travels to Texas for their biggest mission yet – bringing just over 50 dogs back with them to Canada.

Later, the film features the story of Parker, Mehta and the dogs they have rescued over the years.

They include Eddie, a husky-German shepherd who was paralyzed after being hit by two cars on an Owen Sound street in 2018.

Parker saw the crash happen while walking her two dogs and even though Eddie wasn’t hers, she and Mehta took him to a veterinarian who tried to find his owners.

Parker said the dog’s owners, who had adopted him from an animal shelter, refused to become involved in his veterinary care and surrendered him.

The couple decided to adopt Eddie, who underwent surgeries to stabilize his spine, which had been severed in the crash, and remove bone fragments as well as physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

Today, Eddie is a happy-go-lucky pooch who walks with the help of a specialized two-wheeled cart.

Award-winning Toronto-based filmmaker Leora Eisen, who directed, wrote and produced Rescuing Rex, said she met Eddie and his owners in October 2018 at a Redemption Paws event in Toronto and immediately fell in love with them.

“I just don’t think there are very many people out there who would be willing to take a dog like Eddie on. And they have embraced having a special needs dog with open arms and hearts. We were so impressed with their love for their animals and the way they dealt with the challenges,” Eisen said.

The documentary’s crew came to Owen Sound for two days in January 2019 to film Parker and Mehta and their dogs, who also include a three-legged shih-tsu-mix Charlotte and semi-hairless, toothless Chinese crested pup Willow.

The film shows Eddie running in his cart while on a walk with his owners on a snowy Owen Sound sidewalk, Parker recalling the day she met Eddie and video and images of his recovery and rehabilitation. It also shows Eddie and the other dogs playing in their backyard and Willow “singing” while sitting with her owners on their couch.

In the film, Parker says it’s important to her to adopt dogs that no one else wants, noting they are just as deserving as other dogs of having a good life.

While the part of the documentary filmed in Owen Sound lasts for about five minutes, Eisen said it’s a key element.

“The documentary is about foreign rescue, but we also felt it important to include Canadian dogs being adopted – meaning dogs that haven’t been brought across the border – because that’s part of rescue here as well,” she said.

“It’s also important because Angela and Sunil are not from Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. It’s not just a huge urban centre story; although, numbers-wise that’s where most rescues take place. But they’ve adopted or fostered dogs from all over the province for all kinds of reasons, all kinds of dogs.”

Parker said the documentary marks Eddie’s film debut.

“We’re very excited about it. We’re excited to share his story and his message,” she said.

Rescuing Rex will also air on TVO June 2 at 9 p.m. and June 4 at 9 p.m.

Since the filming, Parker and Mehta have rescued another paralyzed dog named Wally, a four-year-old chihuahua-mix who the couple adopted from an animal shelter in Los Angeles.

Like Eddie, Wally doesn’t have the use of his hind legs and has been trained to use a mobility cart to get around.

Parker now volunteers with the Toronto-based dog rescue Fetch and Releash and has participated in several rescue trips with the organization.

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