Becoming a Blind Dog - Blue's Story

We got our dog Blue, the day after my Great Grandma passed away, which is why Blue has always been special to my family. She was about one year old and came from the humane society. The way I figure it, the cutest dogs and the most playful ones will be adopted quickly and easily. With this in mind, I've always looked for the dogs that really need a family, which is also why all of our dogs and cats have some sort of story behind them, but I digress.

We saw Blue just sitting in the back corner of her cage. It seemed that all the noise and ruckus from the rest of the dogs, the pound was pretty full at the time, was just too much for her. When we would call her, she would just stay in corner and not come near the front by us. She was the most adorable dog in the pound, but if she wasn't going to be people friendly, it would be hard for her to find a family.

We decided to take her outside and play with her for a few minutes to see if maybe she would warm up to us. After a couple minutes, she was walking to us when we called her, but still no barking or jumping. In spite of her introverted attitude, she was just too darn cute to leave there, so home she went. It took a little while, but she did warm up to us. I remember the time when she first really barked, it almost scared the rest of the family. We didn't know what to expect, but since she can't keep her high, pitched trap shut now, we almost wish she'd go back to not talking at all. That was just a joke, so don't get all ypset or anything.

Finding out Blue was blind was one of the scariest moments I can remember. She was running around, just fine for the most part. We'd laugh if she bumped into something once in awhile, since dogs do that anyways. When it got to the point that she couldn't see her treats, but instead, would sniff around for them, then I got really worried. I called my mom at work right away when I thought something was wrong, and the next day she was in the vet. Since most veterinarians are the animal equivalent of general practitioners for humans, the doctor sent us to an eye specialist in Milwaukee. I love my baby girl to death, but it is so hard to get a blind dog to sit down in a car for an hour, that's for sure.

The eye specialist looked into her eyes for a minute and knew exactly what was wrong. It's a genetic disease called Retinal Degenerative Disorder, and there was nothing we could have done to stop it. With vitamins, we may have been able to slow it down, but that's not likely and would've resulted in the same ending anyways. I just started crying. I couldn't help it. The nurse told me most people start crying and blame themselves, but it is really nobody's fault. I didn't believe her. Still not sure if I believe there was nothing I could have done, I mean, it is the year 2007 after all. The reason we didn't notice until she was almost completely blind was because Australian Cattle Dogs are smart and adapt so well, even though dogs in general adapt very well. She's been going blind and just couldn't tell us, pretty much.

We still play fetch, I just have to make sure the ball makes enough sound for her to hear, but she's not much of a 'favorite toy' kind of dog. She will growl and gnash her teeth at you, playful, of course; it just stings more if she nips you since she can't see where your hand is. It's an adjusting period, but she's handling it much better than we are, so I think she will be just fine. Thanks for the chance to allow me to share Blue's story with you.