Hit by a car and left for dead — not a whole lot to smile about there.
But five years out from her ‘adoptaversary,’ all you can do is smile when you set eyes on Super Scooty the dog.
It’s hard to believe this is the same pooch who was struck by a car as a puppy in Mexico in 2012, abandoned by her owners, and left to drag herself through the streets to survive.
“She had distemper, massive infections, wounds down to her bones with maggots in them, crushed hips and a broken back in a few places,” her owner Erica Loring tells PEOPLE. “I saw a plea for help for funds for her but I knew I wanted to do more than give money, I needed her.”
Rescued by California’s Baja Dog Rescue, it took a long time for Super Scooty to don a megawatts smile like this one (see it on the beach below, as the pup runs in her wheelchair through the sand).
“At first she was obviously sad and shy, definitely a shell of a dog that you see today,” Loring says. “Her personality is precious, she was named the happiest pet on the planet by Solid Gold Pet and I really don’t think it’s that much of a stretch, she is such a happy, goofy dog.”
When Loring, who splits her time between California and Nevada, first adopted the pup, she couldn’t walk at all, but thanks to hydrotherapy, laser therapy, acupuncture and massage therapy, she started walking within that first year.
“She is slowly getting better and some days are better than others,” she says. “Rainy days and cold weather are tough on her … we use the chair for beach days, long walks and hikes or when her nerves are acting up.”
Her “different-ability,” as Loring calls it, doesn’t slow her down at all, “she is full force!” she adds.
The dog’s favorite pastimes are wrestling hard, running fast and romping in those California waves.
“She is a very effective communicator, she tells us when she wants up, down, water, to go upstairs,” Loring says. “Everyone in the house knows her cues, she knows she has everyone wrapped around her little paw lol.
The same goes for her Instagram followers — there are more than 31,000 of them, who follow all her gleeful moves day to day. A clip of the pup making a canine friend at a brewery received upwards of 50,000 views.
“Her pure joy is infectious,” says Loring. “It’s literally impossible not to smile around her, she’s such a big personality. Plus she does NOT like when I’m upset, so she doesn’t leave much choice lol.”