Months after having his hand-built motorized scooter stolen and destroyed, local man Dennis Wisser is back on his scooter, zipping about town.
"One piece at a time," he said, when asked how he's managed to repair his sole source of transportation. "I took money out of my food budget, and afforded what I could."
Wisser's scooter was stolen last November from outside his home at Lake Cowichan's Lakeview Manor complex.
"I depend on it to get groceries, go to the post office; all regular things," he said, at the time.
The contraption was built about 10 years ago with his son, using an industrial floor polisher motor to get it moving.
Soon after the scooter was reported missing, it was spotted down an embarkment leading down to the Cowichan River, at Greendale Park.
A group of friends helped lift it back up. Nothing was stolen from the scooter. Instead, the thieves chose to become vandals and trash it.
"It's a thrill ride," Wisser said, of the thieves. "I found out who did it, but I can't prove it."
Wisser than spent the next few months piecing the scooter back together, spending money as it came to him in order to get his sole means of transportation going again.
This was made difficult, due to the fact that Wisser is on a limited income of disability insurance.
But, with spring returning to the Cowichan Lake area, Wisser is able to enjoy his mobility, with his repaired scooter.
The Gazette spotted him last Thursday, enjoying a ride through the Greendale Park area, where his scooter was found demolished; his newly-repaired scooter serving as a stark contrast to the sight of it last November.
Anyone with information about the scooter's theft can still call the Lake Cowichan RCMP at 749-6668. Tips can also be made anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.