Every day, 7-year-old Calypso runs two miles alongside Andi Stewart. The creaking of Calypso’s pink wheelchair and Andi’s rhythmic footfalls announce their arrival.

Every day, Calypso, along with her sidekick, Ebby, guard Blake and Andi Stewart’s fenced-in backyard from unwanted passers-by, squirrels and the occasional stray dog.

Every day Ebby and Calypso — maneuvering her wheels over bricks and stones — play tug-of-war with the tree limbs at their home in Decatur.

“She really is a miracle dog. It is just amazing what she can do, especially considering where she was three months ago,” Andi said.

Three months ago, the Doberman that Blake Stewart adopted as a puppy, and named after a nymph in Greek mythology, was scheduled to die.

The grief, frustration, disappointment, excitement and hopefulness the Stewarts experienced since then taught them more about love, patience and faith in the community. It is an education they want to share.

When Andi Stewart picked up the phone Sept. 23, she knew something was wrong.

“Calypso needs to see a veterinarian now,” the house sitter advised.

The calls started halfway through the Stewarts’ vacation in Miami. They started innocently: Calypso is acting funny; Calypso is acting different.

After the last call, Blake and Andi boarded a plane for Nashville. When they landed, a message awaited: Calypso had taken a turn for the worse; she could not move her hind legs.

Fearing Calypso was in pain, the emergency veterinarian recommended euthanasia.

On the drive back to Decatur they came to peace with the decision, and at the Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital they said their goodbyes.

But something didn’t feel right.

“Something told me this was not right. Something in my gut — I can’t describe it,” Andi said.

“It just hit me really hard and all of a sudden. Everyone thought I was crazy, even Blake.”

Blake told Andi to let Calypso go — just let her go. She couldn’t; the unexplainable gut feeling remained. After begging and pleading with Blake, her family and the veterinarian, Andi secured Calypso time. Dr. Michael Newman granted 24 hours.

That night, covered by a donated Power Rangers blanket, Blake, Andi and Calypso slept in a kennel. They hoped, wished and prayed for Calypso to show any sign of improvement.

On the second day, their prayers, wishes and hopes appeared.

“She was whining, and I asked her if she needed to go potty. She perked up right then,” Andi said. “We towel walked her outside, and she went to the bathroom.”

“Something changed in her eyes that day,” Blake said. “Her whole disposition changed. She looked like she wanted to live. This was not a dog that wanted to die.”

For a week, Blake and Andi lived in Exam Room 3. At night they slept on the floor in sleeping bags; during the day they received a crash course in how to care for a handicapped dog.

On Sept. 28, the Stewarts, armed with a pink dog wheelchair they had shipped overnight, brought Calypso home.

Doctors diagnosed Calypso with myelomalacia, a bleeding, bruising or softening of the spinal cord that resulted in the paralysis of her hind limbs.

“I wish she could talk,” Andi said, looking at Calypso, dragging herself by her front legs across the tile floor. “We have no idea what happened, what caused this, and we probably will never know.”

According to their research, Calypso should have died. Myelomalacia kills most horses and dogs because the disease continues to spread throughout the body. She should have never regained feeling in her lower back and hind legs.

Calypso is proving the typical prognosis wrong.

“At the beginning we basically knew nothing about how to care for a paralyzed dog and there’s not a lot of information out there,” Blake said.

They researched the Internet, checked out “how to relieve a pet’s bladder” on YouTube, bought gear for handicapped dogs from a police website and rearranged the furniture in their house to make it more handicapped-accessible.

Every morning at 4 a.m., Blake takes Calypso outside to use the bathroom, getting her into the squatting position by bracing her with his knees and lifting up on her stomach.

“I’ve gotten a few strange looks. One morning the cops turned a spotlight on me,” Blake said.

“Yeah, she’s cute in her pink wheelchair, but at 4 a.m. when she has diarrhea, she’s not as cute. It’s hard, but we decided as long as Calypso is not in pain and she is happy, we are committed to this,” Andi said. “I thought one of us would have to quit our jobs at Redstone Arsenal to care for her. We couldn’t leave her alone for an entire day.”

Andi began documenting Calypso’s journey on Facebook (Facebook.com/CalypsoStewart).

Word of the dog with the paralyzed hind legs spread.

From a fellow member of the Junior League, Andi learned of Lisa Cherry, who specializes in caring for handicapped pets. The Stewarts recruited Cherry and a staff member from Dr. Norwood Bryan’s veterinary office to watch Calypso during the day.

Through Cherry, Blake and Andi met Dr. Helen Berschneider.

Owner of Nashville-based Foothills Holistic Veterinary Services, Berschneider treats animals through chiropractic techniques and acupuncture.

“Like in most any field, there are skeptics who doubt holistic medicine works. I have seen the benefits of it,” said Berschneider, kneeling over Calypso, gingerly placing needles in her lower back. “People notice when agility dogs are handling the courses better or when a horse that has always limped stopped limping. These are proven results.”

Every other Wednesday, Berschneider brings her traveling services to Decatur, practicing out of Dr. Dawn Monroe’s office.

The Stewarts tried to land a spot in Berschneider’s already over-booked schedule.

“We couldn’t get a spot in Decatur,” Andi said, “but she invited us to come up to Nashville to get treatment.”

And they did. Every Wednesday afternoon for a month, Blake, Andi and Calypso made the five-hour round trip journey to Nashville.

“After four or five weeks, Dr. B said she could fit us in down here,” Andi said. “Now we just have to go to Nashville every other week.”

From two veterinarians who participate with Andi in a Pure Barre workout class, she was introduced to Dr. Sheri Fastenrath. Twice a week at Fastenrath’s Huntsville clinic, Calypso receives hydrotherapy in an underwater treadmill, laser therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

The Stewarts also purchased a therapy pad that emits near-infrared and infrared lights. Using light therapy research done in Huntsville at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Christina and Dennis Reguli created Equine Light Therapy. Approximately the size of a mouse pad, the therapy pads help repair and stimulate cells.

“We are doing everything we can and trying to keep her as active as we can. We are trying to utilize every single moment to help Calypso get better,” Blake said.

The one-time 63-pound Doberman now weighs 48 pounds, takes 11 pills twice a day and does not place any weight on her hind legs.

But Blake and Andi continue to see signs of improvement — the shaking of her tail, the moving of her leg while dreaming, the reaction to a needle poke and the spinal walking, when Calypso lifts her lower spine in the air and attempts to walk.

“We have been told by the vets that they aren’t miracle workers and that Calypso may never walk again,” Andi said. “We know and we don’t care. Yes, we would love for her to get up and walk, but most of all we want her to have a happy life and not be in pain.”

SIDEBAR

The celebration

Andi Stewart decided to celebrate her Dec. 29 birthday by celebrating Calypso’s life.

“I could think of no better way to celebrate than to turn it into a good cause for less fortunate animals,” she said.

In lieu of presents, Andi asked for guests to bring donations for the Animal Friends Humane Society and to sponsor pets at the Decatur Animal Shelter.

Sixty-four invited guests donated $791.

“We were able to sponsor two dogs and two cats for adoption and we were also able to give a check to Animal Friends for $591. I cried when we dropped it by the post office,” Andi said.

A nonprofit organization, Animal Friends Humane Society oversees humane education in schools in Morgan County, the low-cost spay and neutering program, which offers discounts to low-income households, and Animeals, which provides free pet food and cat litter to Meals on Wheels clients.