Article by Viory
In a small improvised workshop called ‘Colitas felices (Happy tails)’, Wilmer Mallqui transforms tubes, wheels and metal structures into an opportunity for mobility for dogs with disabilities. His work does not stem solely from technical skill, but from personal experience marked by resilience and empathy.
In the footage filmed on Saturday, Mallqui is seen assisting Mayra Barreto and her pet Maggie, a pug dog with difficulty walking for whom he built a wheelchair.
Mallqui, who has lived with a physical disability since childhood due to polio, knows firsthand the social barriers and rejection that many people face in public spaces.
“It is a factor that prevents one from moving properly. Because society itself sometimes prevents us with [lack of] ramps on buses, sometimes in the market,” he said.
That experience led him to look differently at animals in a similar situation. “You start to think, if someone who can move a little, who has family support, sometimes cannot function in society, then imagine the little animals. That is when I achieved that empathy,” he maintains.
With that conviction, he began manufacturing adapted wheelchairs for dogs that have lost mobility due to illness or accidents. Each structure is handcrafted and adjusted according to the animal’s size and needs. The result, he says, is seeing them move again with autonomy.
“Of course, at first it makes you very sad to see that pets cannot move. But at the same time it gives me great satisfaction (…) to see that the dogs try on the wheelchair and walk away,” he stated.
In a context where inclusion remains a challenge, Mallqui’s work connects the reality of people with disabilities and that of abandoned or injured animals, offering them the opportunity to improve their quality of life.
Article by Viory
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