Dog Stories and Poetry
by Patricia Walter
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I was at a local outdoor
shelter taking photos for the website I did for them. While
I was there, the shelter manager said “I want to show you a
strange dog”. We walked over to an area away from the main
outdoor kennels and there was this little black and white
sheltie. He was cowering in the corner and seemed afraid of
everything. I could see he had buried his bowl of water and
food in the dirt. The manager told me that she felt he was
either stupid or crazy. As I approached the dog, I could see
his eyes were very strange. I went into the kennel with him
and with some coaxing, he came to me and laid down by my
feet. He became more relaxed as I began petting him and
talking with him. It did not take me long to figure out, he
was blind. I had no way of figuring out if he was
permanently blind or temporarily blinded. He was so afraid
that I told the manager that I would take him home and try
to get him into a rescue group. He was a very sweet and
beautiful dog. He rode home in the car without any problems.
I could tell that he had never had a leash or collar put on
him, but he got accustomed to them quickly.
Since we had so many other
dogs, I kept him in the attached garage. I cleared
everything away that he could run into. My husband put up a
temporary fenced area where he could play by himself. He
really enjoyed his own little space. He adapted quickly and
I worked with him to teach him to walk and heal. He was a
very smart little Sheltie. I tried to get several Sheltie
Rescue groups to take him, but they were either full or did
not want to take in a blind dog. So he continued to stay
with us.
We took him to a Dog
Ophthalmologist at Ohio State University who assured us that
he was born blind. He never could see and never would be
able to see. One eye did not even have a retina in it. I
told him we were trying to find Robbie a new home. The vet
sat on the floor feeding Robbie biscuits and told me that we
should keep Robbie since he had done so well with us. He did
not want to see Robbie bounced around from home to home. I
explained that we already had 12 dogs, but he still felt
Robbie should be with us. So Robbie stayed with us.
Gradually he meet all of
our dogs, one on one. We moved him from the garage into our
kitchen where we kept him in a crate when the other dogs
were around. That way they could smell each other, but he
was safe. Then slowly we would let him share the house with
the other dogs. He gradually felt right at home with all 12!
It was an amazing process to watch. I never felt that
he could become comfortable living with that many dogs. But
he now lives with 16 other dogs. He usually stays in the
kitchen area since he has special toys and his own bowl of
water. He does run around the house with the other dogs some
of the time and always goes outside in our large fenced area
with the other dogs. He loves to play tag, running full
speed in our yard. You would never know that he was blind.
But if someone forgets and leaves a lawnmower or something
in his way – he is really blind and will run right into it.
He knows every bush and tree in our large yard and navigates
just like he has eyes. He is a wonderful dog that is very
smart.
Patricia Walter
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Robbie loves to toss his ball
no need for any one else at
all.
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Jumping and prancing
he looks like he’s dancing.
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Having fun galore
he plays some more.
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Find another new toy
no – playing ball is his joy.
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Taking time for a rest
still loves his ball best.
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Blind dogs have fun too!
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Robbie has learned
so much since we adopted him.
He can heal, ride in
the car, is housetrained, crate trained and learned to live with 16
other brothers and sisters and 3 cats! He is amazing. He loves to play
tag at full speed in the yard with Sweetie, wrestle with Charlie the
Springer and throw his toys around the kitchen. I think he has a smile
on his face all the time.
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Blind
Dogs
Blind
dogs
have fun too
we even adapt
to things that are new.
Don’t need eyes
we see with our heart
that’s because
we’re pretty smart.
Love to give kisses
big hugs too
eyes aren’t needed
to love
through and through.
Original Poetry & Art by
Patricia Walter 2003 ©
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