A Lucrative Niche In Disabled Pets

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Back now with Day to Day. Despite the sagging economy, people are still spending plenty on their pets. Americans are expected to shell out 43 billion dollars on their furry friends this year. Things like vet visits, puppy pills, and contraptions like Eddie's Wheels, two-wheeled carts for disabled animals. In addition to helping out dogs, Eddie's Wheels is creating manufacturing jobs in a part of Massachusetts where jobs are hard to find. Amy Mayer reports.

AMY MAYER: The metal factory behind me is one of the few left here. In the mid 20th century, big tap and die plants supplied tools for threading metal parts and employed thousands. But in the 1970s, multinational corporations were buying up local manufacturers, laying off employees, and closing plants. Industrial jobs started going south and overseas. The Franklin County Community Development Corporation's John Waite says a skilled labor force and entrepreneurial spirit helped the region redefine itself.

Mr. JOHN WAITE (Executive Director, Franklin County Community Development Corporation): People in the community said, we have to take control over our own economic destiny here. And they saw that small business was the way to go.

MAYER: Though large manufacturers likely will remain a thing of the past, Waite says small businesses thrive here when they identify and serve a niche market. Eddie's Wheels is a prime example of that. Leslie and Grinnell founded their company after Eddie built a doggie cart for their blue Doberman, Buddha. The injured dog's vet could only offer a 5,000-dollar surgery or euthanasia. Seeking an alternative, Eddie studied the canine's skeleton.

Ms. LESLIE GRINNELL (Owner, Eddie's Wheels): And he went down in the basement and made her a set of wheels.

MAYER: They got Buddha back on her feet. Soon, other dog owners were approaching them. When they outgrew the basement, they bought the abandoned sawmill across the street and rehabbed it into this factory. The carts are custom built to help each disabled pet resume an active life. Internet access and nearby highways mean small companies like this one readily go global.

Ms. GRINNELL: We're pretty well connected in Romania.

MAYER: The carts also sell well in Japan, Australia and across this country.

(Soundbite of dog barking)

MAYER: Leslie Grinnell lifts the paralyzed back end of her dog Sweet Pea into a two-wheeled harness.

Ms. GRINNEL: Oh, see over her shoulders. And sew two pull pins to lock it on this - the old closed. Buckle the chest strap. And there you go.

(Soundbite of door)

MAYER: Sweet Pea rushes down the ramp from the office to the backyard. Pulling the cart with her strong front legs. Grinnell says dogs adapt quickly to using wheels.

Ms. GRINNELL: When we put a dog in a cart, we're putting them back on all four feet in a normal posture. They're greeting the world as a dog again.

MAYER: Seventeen employees work in the factory, building carts that sell for 300 dollars and up. The company doesn't expect to become the biggest employer around. But as long as people love their dogs, Eddie's Wheels will have a market for their product. For NPR News, I'm Amy Mayer.

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