Meet Moana, the Inspiring ‘Doggo-On-Wheels’ Who Is Now A Web Series Star!

Moana was left paralysed from below the waist after an accident and had it not been for the intervention of some compassionate people and their social media-driven impact, she probably would have succumbed to her injuries.

Meet Moana, the Inspiring ‘Doggo-On-Wheels’ Who Is Now A Web Series Star!

Inspiration can never be limited to one conventional definition because what is overlooked by one, ends up inspiring another. How else would you explain the inclusion of Moana, a street dog, in a web-series which focuses on narrating inspiring stories from real life?

Well, Moana isn’t a regular dog who you will meet on the street. She was left paralysed from below the waist after an accident and had it not been for the intervention of some compassionate people and their social media-driven impact, she probably would have succumbed to her injuries.

Today, she runs around as freely as any other dog, thanks to a wheel cart.

Moana was a puppy when she was found by Ankur Bhatnagar, a 3D animator from Bengaluru, who upon seeing her pitiable state, rushed her to a veterinarian. As she slowly recovered, Ankur decided to name her after the female protagonist of ‘Moana,’ a popular animated movie that had released around the time.

Ankur’s situation didn’t allow him to give her the care she needed, so he took to Facebook looking for foster parents.

Fortunately, Moana’s guardian angel came in the form of Rekha Vijayakumar, another Bengaluru resident who came forward to foster her and eventually became her parent.

Moana’s road to recovery included a wheel cart, rehabilitation with hydrotherapy and laser treatment to improve circulation.

According to a report in Bangalore Mirror, Rekha had posted about Moana’s situation on her Facebook page, and this ended up catching the attention of her brother Mahesh Nayak and his young friend, Abhinav Rao, a class 7 student of Lourdes Central School in Mangaluru.

Abhinav was really keen to help Moana, and together, the duo broke open a piggy bank in which they had been dropping coins for a while.

Abhinav with his haul. Source: Mahesh Nayak/Facebook.

With about ₹4,000 in hand, Rekha managed to get a second-hand wheel cart for Moana, and the canine has been unstoppable ever since—she went on to feature on the cover of a table calendar of an animal charity foundation early this year!

But it doesn’t end here.

Moana will now be seen in a web series called Josh-e-lay created by RJ, actor, director and runner Vinayak Joshi, who met Moana when he was running for a non-profit organisation, LetsLiveTogether, last year. The series includes remarkable real-life stories of people from different walks of life.

“I took Moana [to the event], and he was inspired by the way she runs, despite being paralysed, and wanted her to be featured his web series. He has attempted to portray that a limping horse is also a winning horse. We are happy to see that Moana has been recognised. More people should come forward and give shelter to differently-abled animals that are in need of shelter,” said Rekha.

This is the same dog who does not have bowel movements and needs to be diaper-clad almost all the time.

Moana with her parent, Rekha. Source: Rekha Vijayakumar/Facebook.
Moana on the calendar cover. Source: Mahesh Nayak/Facebook.

However, thanks to the love, care and support of people like Ankur, Rekha and Abhinav, Moana has emerged a true winner amidst all adversity and Vinayak wants to inspire the world with her fantastic story.

“Over a period of time, I have realised that we have forgotten to appreciate good things around us and we are only being cynical and critical about things that we see. In order to bring back appreciation among our own people and to find a hero among people around us, I came up with this idea of doing Josh-e-lay. The web series has more than 28 real stories that includes Moana’s too. I got to know about Moana when I was running. She is an inspiration. Moana plays an important role in episode three that was released recently,” he said.


You may also like: Found Bleeding on Railway Tracks, This Mumbai Dog Proves Miracles Can Happen!


Over 120 artists from across the world have collaborated with Vinayak for Josh-e-lay, which took off on September 17 and will continue till October 30.

You can check out the video featuring the incredibly inspiring Moana, here:

(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)

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