New Orleans Occupational Therapist Builds a ‘Doggie-vator’ Stairlift for Her Three Elderly Rescued Pugs

Sonya Karimi, an occupational therapist in New Orleans put her professional skills to use while she and partner Zach Grate were stuck at home. She built a very clever DIY “Doggie-vator” stairlift for their three elderly rescued pugs George, Bodhi, and Sam. The idea for this nifty machine was to address a serious knee problem that Bodhi had when he was adopted, but the lift works with any little dog who lives in the house.

Sonya decided to transfer her job skills working with elderly humans to her elderly dogs – coming up with the incredibly cute idea to build their own mini-lift which even their younger pug Emery, four, enjoys.

Bodhi’s knee problem proved so bad that he needed surgery. The couple created a fundraising page through GoFundMe in April 2020 in order to pay for said surgery.

It tugs at our heartstrings to see Bodhi unable to keep up with his siblings during playtime or have trouble standing up. So to make it clear, Bodhi is going to be getting his ACL fixed regardless of what happens here because he’s a sweet little guy who deserves to run and play with his brother and new siblings and we would never let our fur babies suffer. However, with the COVID situation, some unexpected personal medical bills and our wedding coming up any help would be greatly appreciated and help us get Bodhi back to 100% as soon as possible!

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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