Kelly's Cash

Hi,
My name is Cash. I am the rottweiller puppy that was on your adopt a blind dog pages. I am here to tell you that the most wonderful thing has happened to me! I beat the odds and found a forever home with my very own family to love me!!

My mom said she knew she and my new family belonged to me the very first time she read about me at 9 weeks old. She emailed the super kind lady I was living with and heard that she was trying to find me a home a little closer to where I already was. At the time I was all the way in a place called, Texas and my mom lives in a place called Michigan. So, mom just waited and prayed I would find my home in Texas Mom told me the more she thought about it though she knew I would not. She said she just felt that we belonged together.

My mom tried to keep checking on me by looking at the adopt a blind dog page to see if I was still there. As time and each day passed my mom knew I was meant to be with her. So, mom then emailed my breeder again....this time she pleaded with her to change her mind about letting me go so far. My mom explained that if given a chance that my life in Michigan would be a good one! She told my breeder how I would live and that no one could love me more than she already did. Mom told my breeder that she would ALWAYS let her know how I was doing.

And, so began my journey to my new forever home. I was now 7 months old. With all the help from my Great blind dog friends here, we found a terrific man to transport me all the way from Texas to Michigan! It was a long way but well worth it. When I got to Michigan my mom was waiting for me. She was so happy to have me that she was 2 1/2 hours early...lol Even my new big brother Dozer loved me right away! (he's blind too by the way) I am so very happy my mom loves me enough that she never gave up on getting me here to my family.The best part is...mom says this is just the beginning, too! She tells me everyday that my brother and I are loved soooo much! So,no matter whether your sighted or blind like my brother and I, there is a heart out there that holds you in it! I have found the ones who held me in them and I hope every other dog in need will too! THANK YOU to everyone who was involved!
Love,
Cash (rottweiler puppy 7 months old blind from premature birth and head injury)

Kelly can be emailed at yakky@centurytel.net

The Story of Sammie

I first met Samantha, my beautiful 12-year-old blind dog, in July of 1999 when I was visiting Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a wonderful place in Utah that is home to hundreds and hundreds of animals, many of them considered "inadaptable."

Sammie had been burned in a fire in May of 1999 and was still healing. The patches of tender, pink skin attested to her recent experience. But what was most striking about Sammie was that both of her eyes had been removed. I had never met a blind dog before, let alone a dog without eyes. My heart immediately went out to this dog, clearly a strong-willed survivor. Beneath the burns, the scars, and the missing eyes was a beautiful, loving dog. I knew that Sammie needed a home, and I desperately wanted to provide her with that home. So knowing nothing about living with a blind dog, I began making arrangements for Sammie to begin the long journey to her new home in Ohio.

On a humid July afternoon, Sammie arrived at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. She was hot and stressed, but we made it home in one piece. I was amazed at her abilities from the first moment she got out of my car and began to explore her new back yard. Sammie was not only newly blind, but she had lived at Best Friends for the last 11 years, virtually all of her life. She was now in a new place, with new people, new dog friends, and many cats. What an adjustment she had to make! But within three weeks, Sammie was finding her way in and out of the back door and down her make-shift ramp to the yard without my guidance. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Sammie's first months with me were made immeasurably easier by the wonderful advice I received form the best group of people in cyberspace, the members of the blinddog list! I had so many questions: how to introduce my resident dogs; how to get Sammie to overcome her fear of doors; what to use on her, a harness or a collar; what to do in the winter and in the snow. One of the valuable suggestions that we took from Caroline Levin's book Living with Blind Dogs was to wear bells to let Sammie know where we were. She was no longer startled by the sudden appearance of Meghan the Boxer who always wanted to play. She was more relaxed around the cats, and she began to settle into her new life.

About a week or two after Sammie came to live with me, I looked for her in all her usual places and couldn't find her. When I finally stopped looking down and looked up, there was Sammie, sprawled out on the couch sound asleep. I have no idea how she climbed up there, but she is large and so apparently didn't have much difficulty. When she awoke, she jumped off of the couch as if she had been doing that all her life. She is a natural born couch potato.

Sammie has been in her new home almost a year, and her life now consists of long naps, lots of treats, short daily walks, weekly massage treatments, and an occasional adventure. She has found her place in the pack and seems to enjoy the day-to-day routine of our household.

One of her favorite activities is walking along the shores of Lake Erie. Since she had been a desert dog all her life, the sounds and smells of the lake were completely new to her. The first day that we went to the shore, the waves were particularly high. As Sammie walked nearer and nearer, she stopped and her ears turned wildly from side to side, her head raised alertly. She approached the lake until a wave came crashing onto the shore. Then she half ran, half walked backwards! When the wave subsided, she began her cautious approach again, ears twitching like mad, only to repeat the entire scene. But the best part of that walk (for Sammie, anyway) was when she dragged me down the beach, probably about 20 yards or so. She came to an abrupt stop, fell to the ground, and began to roll with obvious pleasure. As you can guess, beneath her was a dead, smelly, partially decomposed big fish!

On a recent walk by the lake, Sammie was having so much fun that she suddenly raised her head high into the air and broke into a run/trot! It was such a sight to see. She was on a 26-foot retractable leash in a large open area, so I let her run as long as I could keep up (that was a sight, too). What trust she must have to run, unable to see where she is going.

Sammie also has learned to steal. One afternoon, I was sitting on the floor preparing to do her massage therapy "homework" when Sammie jumped up and pushed her nose deep into my front shirt pocket. I tried to get her to move, but Sam is very stubborn when she has her mind set to anything. She had half of her head in my pocket when I heard a crunching sound. The treats the mail carrier leaves every day were still in my shirt pocket, and Sammie ate all four of them before she agreed to remove her head. Luckily, no important parts of my anatomy were anywhere near the treats!

Sammie loves to eat paper so much that she often finds my briefcase, gets in it (I never remember to zip all the pouches), removes a stack of papers, and starts to shred them. I teach English, so I always have a lot of ungraded papers around just waiting for my attention. One night I awoke with a start because I heard paper shredding. I rushed into the dining room, and, sure enough, there sat Sammie with a stack of ungraded papers in her two front paws, shredding them systematically. I had to face my class (luckily it was a college class, so the students were a little older!) and tell them that MY dog ate THEIR homework. Needless to say, I never lived it down. The standing joke in that class was "I turned my homework in. Your dog must have eaten it!"

Three months after Sammie came to live with me, I adopted a ten-year-old deaf Shepherd mix named Ralph who had been badly abused and neglected. After some initial difficulties because Ralph could not hear Sammie's warning growls and Sammie could not see Ralph's approach, the two of them became best friends. They often sat together passing the time holding paws. I only heard Sammie bark once in her first six months with me and that was when Ralph had stumbled--he had extreme rear leg weakness--and fallen squarely on Sammie's head! She let out one loud yip and promptly went back to sleep. Sadly, Sammie lost her best friend Ralph in March 2000, after enjoying his friendship for only five months.

Sammie and her best friend Ralph

In May 2000, I adopted Rose, a 12-year-old deaf Shepherd mix, hoping that Sammie and Rose would become fast friends. They are quite the duo, but Sammie does not love Rose in the same way that she did Ralph. Rose and Sammie have little "old dog fights" when they both want the same crate at the same time. Sammie usually ambles in first; then Rose stumbles in and falls down on top of Sammie. Sammie is at least twice Rose's size, but they just bite at the air and make old lady half barking sounds at each other until I come and lift Rose out of the crate. I actually think they enjoy their little spats. Of course, I do not!

Most days Sammie likes to pass the time sleeping in a patch of sunshine, chewing on a rawhide treat, or just enjoying the company of her three dog friends, Angel, Meghan, and Rose. Sometimes I swear she just sits and smiles, and those are the times when I am so thrilled that we found each other.

I adopted Sammie because I thought she needed me. I had no idea at that time how much I needed her, too. Sammie has brought much joy to my life, but she has also taught me valuable lessons about living with disability, about adapting to life's changes, and most importantly, about the beauty of a relationship built slowly on love and trust. My Sammie "sees with her heart," and every day I try to see with mine, too.

Deborah Workman dogzz1@aol.com

Sadly Sammie went to the Rainbow Bridge due to kidney failure on Sept 11, 2000 She will be extremely loved and missed by Deborah and the members of the Blind Dog list. 

Jeanna's Danny Boy 

Hi, Over a year ago on St. Patrick's day we adopted a blind dog. He  was a mess. A friend of mine had found him wondering the street. He  was half starved with a horrible, smelly skin infection, which had  left him bald. He had glaucoma in one eye and cataracts in the other. Since it was St. Patrick's day we named him Danny Boy. 

My whole family thought we were nuts. The pharmacist that we only went to once told me I should take him out some where and shoot him.  Luckily we have a great vet who was very supportive! Over a year  later Danny is in great shape. We did have the eye with glaucoma removed. The vet said that it was probably causing him pain and since he couldn't see out of it there was no reason to keep it. 

We've found that he sleeps better in a kennel that just fits him. I think he feels secure in it. Before we got it he would wander around the house for hours at night. We tried taking him into our room to give him a smaller place but then he spent all night wandering our room. When we put him in the kennel he seems to know its time to sleep and lays right down.

I am always amazed at the way he seems  to sense that objects are in front of him. He is a mellow, friendly  dog who is great with my two small children. I would do it all over again. Thank you for the great web sight. Its given me some great  ideas to try out on Danny. Jeanna

Margo's 3 Joys

On July 1st, 2000 my beloved blind Shih Tzu, Joy, was killed. I thought my world would end. I contacted so many rescues and adoption sites in hopes of finding Joy Again. The only thought that I found comforting was believing that I was to love another as I had loved Joy.

Joy was totally blind due to glaucoma, and she had mammary cancer. Through constant love and attention, Joy was coming into her own. She went to work with me everyday, and over 25 people  lavished their love and affection on her throughout the workday. She slept on my pillow at night, and I had a pooch pouch that enabled me to take her into stores so she never had to be alone in the car. I needed another pint sized pooch, and it was challenging to find another Shih Tzu who was blind, small and needed me as much as I needed it.

Miracles abound and my joy's doubled. I put my plight on the Internet, and two local Shih Tzu rescues contacted me within days of each other. Joby (for Joy's Boy) was the first to enter my life. You can see the sutures to seal the orbit of his missing eye. He had been in a dog pound for two weeks, filthy and matted. No one knew my precious pup was missing an eye and not one person had so much as looked at him to adopt. He is now a bouncing happy boy who has overcome his fear of walking on a leach. He's constantly at my side, always keeping "an eye" on me.

Joya (for Joy Again) came unexpectedly into my life. I didn't want two Shih Tzus, but Joya is so much like Joy that I had no other choice. They are both missing their right eye. So between the two I either have one totally blind dog, or one that is sighted. I opt to say I'm double blessed by my winkin' Shih Tzus.

Your heart and home will never know love and joy until a disabled dog comes into your life... and if you're considering one you might as well consider two, and double your joy as I've doubled mine.

Margo