Brooke Eby used to walk her dog Dray all over San Francisco. The Chihuahua mix loved wandering the parks, meeting other dogs, exploring the city with his owner. They were, as Brooke puts it, “just two young kids in the city.”
That was before ALS.
Now 36 and living with her parents in Potomac, Maryland, Brooke navigates the world from a power wheelchair. The disease has taken her ability to walk — and with it, those cherished strolls with her best friend. Standard leashes tangle dangerously in her wheels. Adaptive options she tried weren’t built for a small dog like Dray.
But this holiday season, a custom-engineered leash has reunited them. Pet retailer Chewy partnered with Bold Lead Designs to create an adaptive solution after receiving a letter written from Dray’s perspective as part of the company’s annual Chewy Claus wish campaign.
“What I really want is for Chewy Claus to take her ALS away, but I know that’s not possible,” the letter read. “I just want to go on a walk with my mom again.”
The spring-loaded leash extension clips onto Brooke’s wheelchair and keeps Dray at a safe distance while giving him room to explore. It’s a prototype that could help wheelchair users nationwide.
“Hands-free control is really important for people that have disabilities because it gives them a sense of independence,” said Katrina Boldry, Bold Lead’s owner and designer. “All you have to do is clip it onto the chair, slip the collar over his head, and off she goes.”
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Brooke adopted Dray a decade ago when she was 26, living alone on the West Coast. He jumped on her immediately at the rescue organization.
“He seemed like so much fun!” she recalled. “I threw him in the car, raced to get supplies, and was just winging it, basically.”
The early months were chaotic — carsickness cleanups, failed attempts to curb his barking. “I had a feeling I had ruined two lives,” she joked.
Walking fixed everything. Their daily adventures became the foundation of their bond.
Then came the diagnosis in 2022. Doctors told Brooke she had two to five years from her first symptoms. She was 33.
“I felt like my life was cut short,” she said. “The goals I had now had a stop date to them.”
Looking at Dray, she found a new way forward.
“I was like, well, I’m 33 now. If I only have a couple years, I need to make every year worth seven,” she explained. “And I looked at Dray, and I realized he’s living every year like it’s seven. So I just figured we’d kind of age together.”
She calls it living life in dog years. The philosophy has inspired millions who follow her candid, often funny posts on TikTok about navigating life with ALS.
But as the disease progressed, walks became impossible.
“We’ve learned to adapt, but lately with this big chair, it’s just been impossible to walk him by myself,” Brooke said. “I don’t know what he thinks about what’s going on with me. He’s just seeing me be less and less active.”
The first test of the new leash was tense. Unlike trained service dogs, Dray is a pet — and pets often balk at unfamiliar equipment.
Brooke wheeled slowly down the driveway. Dray hesitated. Then he started walking beside her.
“It gave me goosebumps,” Boldry said. “You saw the smile on her face. It was awesome.”
“I’m shocked at how quickly he adapted,” Brooke said. “He just accepted it and started walking. It’s a good lesson for all of us.”
Now the pair rolls through their neighborhood together, greeting neighbors and meeting dogs — something Brooke thought she’d lost forever.
“Dray is seeing me be less and less active, and it’s just showing him that I’m still there, still the same leash holder I’ve always been,” she said. “This is one less time I have to ask someone to help me do something I used to do by myself multiple times a day in my normal life.”
Chewy also donated $10,000 to Team Gleason, an ALS advocacy organization, to support pet owners living with the disease. The prototype leash could eventually help others in similar situations.
“There’s not really a ton of adaptations being made in the pet world right now,” Brooke said. “I hope it opens up a lot of independence for people and more activity for their pets.”
The Chewy Claus campaign has received more than one million pet wishes since launching in 2022. For every wish submitted through December 24, the company donates five meals to shelter animals through Greater Good Charities — up to 16 million meals total. Wishes submitted through the Chewy app receive an additional five meals.
Pet parents can submit wishes at www.chewy.com/ChewyClaus through Christmas Eve.
