My New Blind Rescue

I'd like everyone to meet Anna. She is an 18 month old female with a mix of Greater Burmese Mountain and German Shepherd genes. She was at a local shelter and running out of time. It's amazing how sweet and well adjusted she is. She is house trained, and knows basic commands. A very gentle, happy dog. In less than 24 hours she has learned her way around most of the house, and does great walking on a leash. The pic's of her are with a shelter attendant, getting ready to go to her new home :D

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...oys1/Anna1.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...oys1/Anna3.jpg

What a beautiful dog! Congrats on adopting a special needs animal, they're always my favorite pets! She looks like she's smiling! :)

Oh wow :O She is beautiful!

Good luck with her! That's one lucky dog;)

She is definitely smiling :D she knows she's going to a good home :gj:

Aww! What a sweetie! It does look like she is grinning from ear to ear. ^_^

Right on Toys! :)

She's gorgeous... big fat gold star to you! :hug:

What a pretty face! She looks like an awesome dog! Did they know how she became blind?

Awww.... She is adorable!!! What a smiley happy girl!!!

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Originally Posted by OhBalls

What a beautiful dog! Congrats on adopting a special needs animal, they're always my favorite pets! She looks like she's smiling! :)

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Originally Posted by lenastorms

Oh wow :O She is beautiful!

Good luck with her! That's one lucky dog;)

She is definitely smiling :D she knows she's going to a good home :gj:

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Originally Posted by tweets_4611

Aww! What a sweetie! It does look like she is grinning from ear to ear. ^_^

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Originally Posted by Earl

Right on Toys! :)

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Originally Posted by Laooda

She's gorgeous... big fat gold star to you! :hug:

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Originally Posted by starmom

Awww.... She is adorable!!! What a smiley happy girl!!!

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Thanks everyone, we are both doing very well. I've had dogs my entire life, and I don't think I've ever had one that is so thankful for food, a walk, or a hug. She is really amazing.

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Originally Posted by JLC

What a pretty face! She looks like an awesome dog! Did they know how she became blind?

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She was born that way, must have been some type of genetic defect. She keeps her eyes closed, but you can open them and see the deformed eyes. One of our other dogs only has one eye, and the other has three legs. So I guess were batting a thousand :8:

awwwwwww god bless your heart!!! what a beautiful person you are, taking in a special needs dog. she's beautiful and sounds very smart!! :gj::gj::gj::gj::gj:

You're A ok in my book!! :hug:

congrats on the new adoption. kudos for getting a special needs animal out of a shelter. and she is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. she is smiling. we too recently adopted a shelter dog.

She is sooooooooo cute! Congratulations.

Good man, Jim. I knew you were a stand up guy. Congrats on the beautiful girl!! Hope she brightens your days for many years to come!!

:gj::gj:

Cheers,
Kat

Too beautiful...

:) Congrats on such a lovely new family member.

Kudos to you for giving a home to these animals.

She is such a cute baby!! She looks like she has a sweet heart!

It's wonderful to see people adopting special needs pets!

A friend of mine has her heart set on some day adopting a 3-legger... Don't know why that specific special need stands out for her, but it's what she wants to do!

Today she had her first bath here, you should have seen the suds flying. She must have thought I needed one also. She knows her way up and down the stairs now, and how to navigate to the backdoor to get out and take care of business.

She's absolutely gorgeous! I see a lot of joy in store for the both of you for many years to come! Thank you for rescuing her!

God bless you, thank you for saving her. She is beautiful!;)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

She's absolutely gorgeous! I see a lot of joy in store for the both of you for many years to come! Thank you for rescuing her!

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She is giving me all the thanks I need :D
Today we learned how to walk with the Premeir Gentle Leader head collar, she picked it up right away. No more pulling.

Awww!!! That is so awesome! She is gorgeous!

Good luck with her. I adopted a blind/deaf doxie from the shelter a few years ago. He stayed living with my parents when I moved out, but he's a great dog. I had to train him to react to leash commands, two gentle tugs up meant that stairs, a curb or something similar was coming up (he'd put his nose down and feel his way, like a cane for a blind person), a gentle tug right or left meant that we were slowly changing direction, two tugs in either direction meant that we were making a sharp turn. One tug up mean that we were stopping. Lol. Now, he can go to the bathroom on his own (without someone tugging him around). When I walk into the house and nobody is home, I always stomp twice so that he knows that it's someone that doesn't need to be barked at.

Couple of new pics, she enjoyed the snow today. She has put on a few pounds this week and is starting to get in better shape.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/DSCN0216.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/DSCN0231.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/DSCN0218.jpg

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Originally Posted by TooManyToys

She was born that way, must have been some type of genetic defect. She keeps her eyes closed, but you can open them and see the deformed eyes. One of our other dogs only has one eye, and the other has three legs. So I guess were batting a thousand :8:

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That's interesting. I wonder if they have a sensitivity to light, and that's part of the reason she keeps them closed instead of just having them open.

Amazing thing you did, kudos and stars.

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

That's interesting. I wonder if they have a sensitivity to light, and that's part of the reason she keeps them closed instead of just having them open.

Amazing thing you did, kudos and stars.

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I've tried shining a flashlight at her in the dark, and there is no recognition. The eye slits don't seem to be full size, and I don't think she has much muscle control over them.

Her eyes are similar to my dog's eyes. He started out with one eye that had a malformed eyeball, and the other eyeball was normal (but blind) and a bright blue color. Now, he simply has two slits. If you open them, you can see the tear ducts and such, but there aren't eyeballs in there at all anymore. His was a genetic problem, he's a double dapple doxie, which is known to cause these problems, as well as missing limbs, ears, tails, etc. Our dog was lucky to only be deaf and have "dissolving" eyeballs that had always been blind. Of course, he was being used as a breeder stud in a puppy mill when the rescue shelter busted them and confiscated all of the dogs.

It looks like she had a lot of fun in the snow! I wonder if she could have some rottweiler mixed in... she looks kinda rotty and they're known to have eye issues... hmmmm....

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Originally Posted by katiadarling

It looks like she had a lot of fun in the snow! I wonder if she could have some rottweiler mixed in... she looks kinda rotty and they're known to have eye issues... hmmmm....

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She is too small of build, and her face up close is different than a rottie. I've been doing some research, and she has many of the characteristics of the Entlebuch Cattle Dog.

http://www.pets.ca/breedprofiles/a/entlebucher/e3.htm

Aww. She lucked out with you buddy. Couldn't have asked for a better save.

Cheers,
Kat

Quick update, Anna has packed on about 15lbs. Her backbone no longer sticks out above her back! We go on about a 45 minute hike every day, and she get's around so well that most people can't even tell she can't see. She no longer bumps into walls or the rockery outside. Life is good, thanks for all of your kind words :)

Great looking Dog!
She is definetily smiling in the pics. This world could use more people like you!

Awww, what a happy dog!!! I am so intrigued by blind dogs, it's amazing how well they seem to adapt...

Jim, there's nothing more wonderful than reading a thread like this with my morning coffee! Anna found her angel in you and your great care for her. Please keep us updated as she continues to expand her world under your care. What a wonderful thing you've done for her. :)

you're awesome! I'm so glad to hear that she's doing well and that you are such a good owner. My dogs would love to go on 45 minute hikes every day! (it wouldn't hurt for you to post more pictures! = )

Awww what a sweet baby! You'll have to keep us updated!

Awww! She's beautiful! I just adopted a supposed Berner/GSD mix last month. Looks like he's gonna be bigger than your girl though. I'm so glad to hear she's doing well. Kudos on rescuing her.

She is gorgeous. :) Look how happy she is in the pictures!!

Congrats

OMG, that is one of the biggest doggie smiles I have ever seen! She looks like she's enjoying her new home. :)

Do the eyes seem to bother her at all? I would think when they keep them closed that the eyes hurt or something. Thats how our dog was when we had to take him in to remove one of his eyes. He was completely blind in both eyes. His bad eye also leaked some as well. Did you ever take her to a vet for an opinion on it?

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

Do the eyes seem to bother her at all? I would think when they keep them closed that the eyes hurt or something. Thats how our dog was when we had to take him in to remove one of his eyes. He was completely blind in both eyes. His bad eye also leaked some as well. Did you ever take her to a vet for an opinion on it?

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Of course she has been to the vet, completely updated on shots as well as being spayed. No pain or problems with her eyes, they just are not fully developed.