Disabled raccoon gets around thanks to custom wheels by Kentucky high school engineering students

Описание: There are more than a dozen animals at Nolin River Wildlife in Hardin County, from dogs and cats to foxes and even opossums. But there's one furry friend you can't help but notice.

Boone the Raccoon is a 1-year-old, 20-pound raccoon that was first brought to Nolin River Wildlife, a wildlife sanctuary, last May. While the sanctuary has other raccoons, this is the only one so far that has its own custom wheelchair.

"I cried when I saw him get in the chair and actually move for the first time," Mary Key, the executive director of Nolin River Wildlife, said. "And his little face was so - he gets this real engaged look about him. He was thrilled and he still is. He fusses to get in it now."

Key said she first learned Boone couldn't walk a few weeks after he arrived.

"We didn't know there was an issue until it was time for him to start walking, and then when it was about three weeks old, four weeks old, he started doing a lot of this and falling over," she said.

According to Key, Boone was diagnosed with cerebellar hypoplasia, which means the base of his brain was never fully developed, which is why he was never able to learn to walk. Key said after seeing Boone struggle to move, she reached out to Central Hardin High School, where a class of engineering students decided to build Boone a customized and adjustable wheelchair made out of PVC pipes.

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