Dog in need of some Disney Magic

WINTER GARDEN TD Collectibles is helping a dog who needs some love this holiday season.

Christina Mohr’s dog, Buddy, is the mascot of the Central Florida Disney Pin Chasers group, which meets at Holiday Inn on State Road 192. Through the Pin Chasers, Mohr met Tom and Diana Phillips, the owners of the Disney collectibles store, TD Collectibles. 

Because of extreme malnutrition early in his life, Buddy suffers from arthritis in his knees and now is in so much pain that he can no longer walk. Buddy’s veterinarian has recommended a procedure to file down the arthritis in his knees and tighten up his ligaments, so his knees no longer pop out of place. The operation, called patella luxation repair, costs $1,902 for each knee, and the vet can only operate on one knee at a time. 

Mohr hopes she can raise enough money to have Buddy’s first operation in January. Buddy is Mohr’s medical service alert dog. Mohr has reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which causes her to pass out if she stands too quickly. Buddy is able to detect if her blood pressure is too low and alert her.

“I just want him to get better,” Mohr said. “He is just in so much pain, and he does so much for me and he makes other people happy just by seeing him because he’s so calm.”

“I would give up all my stuff for him. Pin trading had always been my thing, and I’m giving up all that stuff just for him to get better.” 

—Christina Mohr

RESCUE MISSION

Four years ago, when Mohr was living in Louisiana, she was driving down the road when she saw a dead dog in the street. When she stopped to pick up the dog, she saw the dog was a nursing mother. A neighbor told her she could find the owner by following all the animals running on the street.

As she walked closer to the house, she saw the animals running around, skinny and covered in sores. One animal even had an eye hanging out of the socket. When Mohr knocked on the owner’s door and told her about the dead dog, the owner told her to throw the dead dog in the Dumpster. When she inquired about the dog’s puppies, the owner told Mohr that they were all dead except for one. Mohr asked to see the one living.

She brought the dog out by the scruff of its neck. 

“He was so skinny, and he was just a mess,” Mohr said. “There (were) bugs crawling all over him.”

The owner let Mohr keep Buddy, and she then nursed him back to health.

LOCAL SUPPORT

Mohr’s friends at TD Collectibles have also stepped up to help. 

The Phillipses had a dog named Max, and when he was 18 years old, he began to have back problems. They watched Max experience pain at the end of his life, and they were unable to do anything for him. Their love for Max led them to want to help Buddy. The Phillipses are allowing Mohr to sell some of her Disney collectible items and pin sets. When an item sells, the Phillips donate the full cost to the Go Fund Me site. 

“I would give up all my stuff for him,” Mohr said. “Pin trading had always been my thing, and I’m giving up all that stuff just for him to get better.” 

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].