Paraplegic pooch gets new San Antonio home

Both boy and dog now at home, Adam Vasquez rubs an appreciative Angel's ear. Before Angel, he rejected dogs. Both boy and dog now at home, Adam Vasquez rubs an appreciative Angel's ear. Before Angel, he rejected dogs. Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Paraplegic pooch gets new San Antonio home 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — As soon as Michelle Morales saw the wheelchair-bound yellow Lab mix on Facebook, she knew the friendship was meant to be.

Morales' son, Adam Vasquez, an 11-year-old boy with Down syndrome, never has had a pet. The Murnin Elementary fifth-grader, who is very isolated at school, has always been a little overwhelmed by dogs, she said.

But she hoped Angel, a mild-tempered Lab mix that suffered spinal injuries that paralyzed her from the waist down, would change that.

“I don't want him to be lonely,” Morales said of her son. “He doesn't have the typical friendships an 11-year-old has, and I want him to have somebody special in his life.”

Morales took Adam to Animal Care Services on Thursday, just a day after seeing Angel on Facebook, to adopt the pooch. Morales simply hoped her son wouldn't push Angel away, his typical reaction to dogs.

“There were several of us outside, and Angel went straight to Adam, and he didn't push her away,” Morales said. “He was so happy, he was smiling. He hugged her, he kissed her and took pictures with her. ... I ended up crying because we didn't expect” the first meeting to go so well.

Angel, 2, was rescued by ACS officers in early March from a parking lot at Villaret Boulevard and Lytle Avenue, near Palo Alto College. An anonymous donor provided a dog wheelchair to ACS, and Angel has become more than comfortable with the device over the past week, said ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood.

Live Release Manager Bethany Heins added Wednesday that just two years ago, the shelter did not have the resources to save a pet like Angel, but with community engagement, the shelter has been able to secure more funds to be able to treat pets with specific needs.

Clinic staff named the dog Angel because of her demeanor and willingness to receive treatment despite severe injuries and pain.

Angel “isn't overwhelming or intimidating. She isn't an 'I need your attention' kind of dog,” Morales said. “She is very loving and patient.”

Morales thought the canine seemed to be a perfect match for her son because “Adam likes to help people. ... If there is a classmate in the wheelchair, he'll want to take care of that person, so I knew Adam would want to take care of the dog.”

She was right.

Angel was scared during the car ride to Morales' home and “she kept pushing herself toward Adam, and he actually held on to her. ... My husband had to brake hard at one point, and Adam actually yelled, 'Be careful!'”

Morales said she hopes the friendship will provide Adam a relationship outside of his parents.

“My hope, as his mom, is that if my son has a bad day at school and he wants to be alone or can't tell me about it, he'll have someone to cry to, to play with and to understand him,” she said. “Teenagers want their parents less and less, and he's already showing that independence but he has nobody to share those years with.”

It's tough to say who is happier: Morales, her son or Angel. Either way, Adam's four-legged friend has found a home.

Or, maybe more accurately, a home found Angel.

Staff Writer Vincent T. Davis contributed to this report.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenParker