Back in March, it really warmed the heart that Ernesto Moran and Justin Wadman, two awesome employees at the Home Depot in Hawthorne, Calif., voluntarily built a custom wagon for Ike, a 15-year-old Irish Wolfhound mix who had difficulty walking due to bone cancer.
Ike’s dog mom, Risa Feldman, had simply asked Moran for advice on how to improve the existing cart for the dog she rescued 12 years ago.
“I showed him the cart that I was trying to use and I asked him, ‘What can I do to change this cart and build it so that it’s longer or his size?'” Feldman told KABC. “He just shook his head and said, ‘Let me give it some thought and I’ll call you later.'”
Talk about Employees of the Year: Moran and Wadman went ahead and built a brand-new “Ike’s Trike” wagon themselves, and gave it to Feldman free of charge.
“I offered to build this for her and let her know that it’s something that Home Depot offers — giving back to our customers,” Moran told KABC.
Ike loved riding in his custom wagon along the beach, which he did until he crossed the Rainbow Bridge April 14.
“I laid him down to sleep, over the ocean on a hilltop, among some special friends at sunset,” Feldman told Dr. Marty Becker. “He was so content, but ready to go.”
Now, Feldman has paid forward Moran and Wadman’s spirit of giving by donating Ike’s Trike to another dog in need.
T.C. was recently paralyzed due to a herniated disc. As of yesterday, he’s enjoying rides in the custom wagon with his dog dad, Bill.
“I didn’t realize how good it would feel today to pass it on and see that it’s going to help both Bill and T.C. in recovery and in his healing,” Feldman told KABC.
According to a fundraiser she started and then paused on GoFundMe.com, Feldman is working on a plan to mass produce Ike’s Trikes. “There may be a broader plan, cause and corporate partner involved (which would be amazing),” she wrote.
Photos via gofundme.com, Facebook