MANILA, Philippines?This veterinary aide is what one may call a Good Samaritan for hapless animals.

In this dog-eat-dog world, Jeannie Gabasa, 34, has more than once displayed her caring soul as she goes about her job at the Horseshoe clinic in Libis, Quezon City.

Gabasa saved a year-old paraplegic shih tzu named Cyrus from being euthanized, and last week Cyrus received a UK-made dog wheelchair courtesy of British animal welfare advocate Charles Wartenberg.

Correctly fitted to Cyrus? body, the wheelchair is an ergonomically designed saddle support sling made of lightweight stainless steel and two air-pressurized tires.

It cost 400 pounds (about P26,000), which was raised through donations in England.

?You can now run like a fox or a rabbit,? Wartenberg told Cyrus as the wheelchair was strapped on to him for the first time.

It was a welcome change for Cyrus, who had had to lumber along with an improvised wheelchair made of PVC pipes that were too heavy for him.

The new wheelchair props Cyrus? hind legs in a natural standing position, and the top line is level with the natural curvature of his spine.

Born paralyzed

Cyrus? disability is inborn, and he was once condemned to die for it.

A year ago, as Gabasa was helping in the birthing of a shih tzu at the clinic, one of the puppies that emerged had visibly paralyzed hind legs.

The dog?s owner decided that the puppy should be put to sleep, but Jeannie asked that the puppy be put in her care.

Other than the useless hind legs, after all, Cyrus was in perfect health.

?Why put him to sleep? He has a good appetite and he will bring luck,? Gabasa said.

Sure enough, news of a cuddly shih tzu pup with a ?special ability? circulated in the Libis neighborhood, and residents began flocking to the Horseshoe clinic to see Cyrus for themselves.

?[Cyrus] has his own set of fans and playmates. His disability has always been his passport to win friends,? says lovepets.com president Joey Tiosayco.

Walked like a seal

It was at a lovepets.com event in 2007 that Wartenberg and Cyrus met.

Wartenberg?who, as the head of the Animal Kingdom Foundation Inc. that monitors and reports dog meat trading and wholesale acts of animal cruelty in the Philippines, has been accustomed to seeing violence and receiving death threats?was moved by this boisterous pup that walked ?like a seal.?

Frolic in the snow

(He also told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Sweet, the Filipino mongrel rescued six years ago during a raid on a slaughterhouse in Baguio City by investigators, volunteers and members of the Special Operations Group Jericho [See PDI, 10/04/2003], was currently enjoying frolicking in the snow.)

When he returned to the United Kingdom, Wartenberg launched a separate fund-raising drive for Cyrus? wheelchair. He was also updated on Cyrus? latest body measurements to make the wheelchair fit precisely.

As soon as Cyrus was fitted with the new wheelchair, it was as if he never had a disability.

Even Gabasa had a hard time capturing him on camera?he was that fast and frisky.

Cyrus is now on his way to winning more friends and fans.