A dog owner has been forced to add a sign to her dog's stroller to stop strangers from snickering during walks.
Five-year-old Pablo, a miniature wirehaired dachshund, is currently recovering from spinal surgery after being diagnosed with a condition caused by the gradual deterioration of the spine's shock-absorbing parts, known as Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD).
He is unable to walk for six weeks, and Charlotte Horsley, 32, soon noticed that the lack of exercise was affecting his mood, leading her to use the stroller. However, she quickly realized that onlookers often stared or laughed at them.
"I started to become defensive because it was obvious that people thought we were just over-the-top owners treating our dog like a human baby, when in fact he was recovering from major surgery that has left a scar almost the entire length of his little body," she told Newsweek.
"Not wanting myself or my husband to end up in an argument with an ignorant stranger, I decided to make a sign to go on the front of Pablo's pram, telling people he was recovering from surgery and to please be kind."
Horsley, from the Cotswolds region in southwest England, describes the stroller as a "godsend" for Pablo's mental health.
She said: "As part of Pablo's recovery, he isn't allowed to go on any walks for six weeks, and after that, he is only allowed five to 10 minutes a day. We can slowly build that up until his back is strong enough for him to return to life as a normal dog again.
"After a couple of weeks in his recovery pen without any walks or playtime and only being carried to the garden to go to the toilet, my husband and I could see Pablo was struggling mentally.
"We got in touch with an incredible charity called 'Dedicated to Dachshunds,' which lends out dog prams to owners whose sausage dogs are recovering from IVDD, so they can get out and about without walking and risking their recovery."
Since adding the sign, people's attitudes toward the pram have softened, and other owners have reached out to share their experiences.
She said: "As a big dog lover, it makes me sad that anyone would ever think badly of an owner who has their dog in a pram. It can be for many different reasons: age, arthritis, recovery from surgery, etc.
"It is important to be kind in this life—especially to poorly little dogs in prams!"
Horsley has received a sea of support on TikTok (@poochanddoodle) with many users asking the same thing.
One user asked: "Who on earth laughs? It makes my heart burst when I see dogs in prams, and another wrote: "They laughed at my dachshund in her stroller too. People can be really mean."
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