When Josephine, a small dog, was attacked by a larger dog in May, there was almost no hope for her survival.

Opp Veterinary Hospital’s Dr. Faith Drumheller and staff took her on as a special project and the tiny, but playful dog, whose back was broken, is on her way to living a good life.

“We did send her to an orthopedic in Montgomery,” Drumheller said. “He plated it, but the back wasn’t repairable.”

But Drumheller and her staff didn’t give up on Josephine.

“We knew that they had special chairs to help dogs get around,” she said. “We had one specially fitted and made for her.”

Drumheller said that Eddie’s Wheels constructed it for her.

“It gives her a tremendous amount of freedom,” she said. “It is an indoor-outdoor type of cart.”

Drumheller said Josephine can now live a normal life except needing the chair to get around.

“She’s house trained,” she said.

Jospehine isn’t the first pet that Dr. Drumheller has helped.

Through their non-profit, no-kill organization, Opp Paws and Claws, they are able to support abandoned animals in Opp, Andalusia, Enterprise, Elba, Florala, Samson, Geneva, Kinston and the other surrounding areas.

Donations are always welcome, she said.

Drumheller and staff are dedicated to their motto, “Don’t euthanize; improvise.”

“I would love to see that improved locally, “she said. “If 80 percent of the vets were willing to put their time into it, we could save these animals.”

She said an organization from Dothan comes and gets local animals and takes them to Dothan before sending them up north to be placed in homes.

For questions, to volunteer or make donations, call 493-6687.