Dog Paralyzed After Hit-and-Run Wags His Tail Again With Support from New Family (Exclusive)

Earlier this year, "Ward the Wonder Dog" couldn't use his back legs or tail. Now, he's celebrating a happy milestone

A dog left paralyzed from the waist down by a hit-and-run earlier this year has regained the strength to wag his tail, earning the nickname "Ward the Wonder Dog."

In early January, McKamey Animal Center in Chattanooga, Tenn., received a call from someone who had discovered the injured canine underneath their vehicle.

"When we went out there, we deciphered that he had been hit and then pulled himself to what he felt like was safety," Lauren Mann, the organization's director of advancement, tells PEOPLE. "And so he was actually underneath a car and was completely covered in a bunch of dirt and motor oil."

Mann says Ward, whose breed is unknown, was in "pretty rough shape" when he arrived at the center. He couldn't use his back legs or tail and had lost bladder control. However, "his spirits were good from day one."

"He just had the sweetest demeanor, just wants to be everyone's friend," Mann says. "So we always said here that if he could wag his tail, it would be going nonstop."

Ward, who's thought to be about 6 years old, also had to use a wheelchair to get around, but once he got the hang of it, "he was unstoppable," she says.

Ward's personality made the staff fall in love with him.

"He has a really sweet face, and it didn't matter what was going on with him, he just always was happy to see you," Mann says. "When he could start to pull himself up, he would do little happy taps with his front feet and always was giving kisses and just would verbally become super excited whenever he saw his favorite people."

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McKamey partners with a local veterinarian who donates physical therapy sessions to dogs with special needs. Ward attended weekly sessions with the generous vet, where he’d stretch and exercise underwater in a hydrotherapy tank. McKamey’s own veterinarian also worked with Ward to help the dog regain the use of his back leg muscles.

During his time at McKamey, Ward went from being completely unable to hold himself up to standing on his own for a couple of seconds at a time. When he was in his wheelchair, he began trying to use his back legs to push himself.

Ward found his new family in July when the center held an event as part of Bissell Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters national adoption program.

Kellyn Murphy and Matt Murphy had already seen Ward at McKamey’s Paw Palooza event in June. They had three other dogs and were considering adopting a senior dog or another pooch having trouble finding a home.

When they spotted Ward at the second event, the couple knew they had to meet him.

"We didn't even meet any other dogs that day because he was just so sweet," Kellyn tells PEOPLE.

"He looked so happy to be out in the lobby and meeting people and moving around, and I mean, he really is just the sweetest dog," she says. "He came right over to us to let us pet him, and he gets along great with other dogs and fits right in with ours."

The Chattanooga couple had a "slumber party" with Ward for a few days to ensure he meshed with their other canines: Lilly, a dachshund-beagle mix, Bucket, a beagle, and Sage, a mixed breed dog.

Mann says when Ward went home with the Murphys, "Everybody cried."

"Everybody stopped what they were doing and came up to the front adoption lobby and we all lined up our sidewalk and did our little clapping sendoff that we do for our longterm residents," she says. "Everybody was pretty emotional."

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Kellyn, a physical therapy assistant, has been helping Ward with his recovery. She made a standing frame out of an old walker for him to practice weight-bearing on his hind legs. The couple also got a sling for Ward that he wears around his belly to hold his hips up.

"My husband will hold that, while I kind of work his legs and help him take steps," she says.

Playing with the other dogs has also helped Ward build strength.

A few weeks ago, Kellyn and Matt saw Ward wag his tail for the first time.

"He'll do it every now and then, but it's getting more frequent and I've noticed since his legs are getting a little stronger and he's wagging his tail a little more often, we're not having to express his bladder as much either," Kellyn says. "So he just overall, I think, is getting stronger."

When Kellyn sent a video of the tail-wagging milestone to the McKamey staff, they "all cried again," Mann says.

Kellyn says she's seen Ward get more comfortable since moving in this summer.

"After a couple of days, he really, really started getting cuddly, wanted to be on the couch with us," she says.

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"He seems more attached to us," she adds. "If we get up to leave the room, then he follows us, and he moves quickly on two legs. We'll turn around, and he's like right behind you."

Ward also wants to be with the family's other dogs all the time too.

"At first, he would play with them if they played, but he wouldn't initiate it," she says. "But now it's like they've known each other forever."

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