A beautiful, energetic border collie. You can just picture him, right? So vibrant and full of life. So intelligent. So inquisitive and ready to work.
Now imagine this beautiful dog chained up on a farm… 24 hours a day, seven days a week… for two long years.
Absolutely heartbreaking. Worse yet, this beautiful dog is blind. And to make matters even worse, this dog was living in Ireland and in danger of being “put down,” partly due to his blindness.
Enter Caisa Högberg, a Swedish woman who works with a rescue agency that brings rescued dogs from Ireland to Sweden. They knew Ted had zero chance of survival if he stayed in Ireland, so they asked Caisa if she could foster Ted. Naturally she said “yes” without hesitation. Take a look at this cute face:
Caisa had no experience with blind dogs, but this didn’t deter her. She learned what she could online and elsewhere, and she and Ted learned the rest together. In just two short days Ted had stepped into her family and her heart, and Caisa adopted him.
Ted was a fast learner, as he became house-trained and learned his other house manners in just a couple days. What a turnaround from a dog that had been chained up for most of his life!
Fast forward two years, and Caisa got a second call about another border collie who was in much the same predicament as Ted had been: in Ireland, blind, and with very little chance of surviving if they didn’t bring him to Sweden.
Caisa didn’t even have to think about it — she said “Yes” to bringing Zigge the border collie into her home and heart right alongside Ted.
Zigge was young (less than a year old) and had plenty to learn. He found the stairs to be a challenge. And who wouldn’t? As Caisa says, “The ground just disappears.” But with patience and practice, Zigge soon mastered the stairs and now goes up and down with confidence.
Today Zigge and Ted have completely different lives than they did back in Ireland. Where as once they were chained and miserable, today they get to run as free as the wind in open fields and everywhere else…
And recently Zigge and Ted have started playing with each other — jumping, nipping, bowing, barking and frolicking like puppies. You wouldn’t even know the “B Boys” were blind if you saw them out playing like this:
Here’s what Caisa advises those whose dogs are going blind:
“Life does NOT end for your dog if he can’t see. With time and a little patience and lots of love, they are just fine. Dogs live in the moment… let that moment be full of happiness!”
That’s the thought that ran through Rick Vigil’s head one day as he gazed at his lovely blind chihuahua, Delilah. Up until that point, he’d been grieving Delilah’s loss of sight, and helping her with her “disability” by waiting on her hand and foot. Except at that moment he realized that if he and Delilah were going to return to their normal life, things were going to have to be a bit different.
Here is their story in Rick’s own words…
Delilah Stole His Heart (Watch Out, She’ll Steal Yours Too)…
It all started with a referral from a friend to see some Chihuahua pups that belonged to a friend. I rode with a cousin and we met another cousin there to see the pups.
I picked up a black and brown pup and played with him a minute. But then out of the box came this white and blue little girl. One of my cousins picked her up since I was holding a tan girl at this point. I traded with my cousin and looked into her gray eyes. This little girl pup tried to go up my arm. I brought her up close to my face and she gave me a few licks and then tried to go down into my shirt.
The owner handed me another tan and white pup, so I handed the white and blue girl to my cousin. After a few seconds my cousin handed her back to me and said she was clawing him and biting him. I naturally took her back and she was just full of life. I handed her to my other cousin just to have her handed right back to me.
Then the owner told me about the smallest pup of all, so I set the white and blue female back in the box. But before I could get the runt to even look me in the eyes, the white and blue female had gotten out of the box and was crawling up my leg. Then my two cousins and the owner said at the same time, “Looks like she wants to go home with you.”
Well the rest is history. That was June 1st, 2009, and Delilah was exactly two months old.
Fast Forward to 2015 — SARDS Strikes and Delilah Goes Blind Virtually Overnight…
Two weeks before Delilah’s 6th birthday we got up as normal and went outside so Delilah could roam in her garden, but she didn’t want to roam around. I called her to the door and she followed inside. I placed her in my mom’s bed where she loves to lay on her legs. Mom tried to give her a treat and Delilah didn’t turn her head and get the treat as usual. She just stared off into space.
Mom asked me if I noticed anything wrong with Delilah. I thought she acted weird outside.
Next, I tried to coax Delilah down the doggie steps from mom’s bed. She didn’t budge. I carried her upstairs and we sat on my bed. I tried all kinds of things like swatting a fly, moving my hand right beside her face, placing a treat close to her, and shining a flashlight in her eyes to see if her pupils would dilate.
Nothing. There was no reaction to anything.
I called the vet’s office and set up an appointment for the next day. The Vet examined her and came to the conclusion she had SARDS, which is Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome.
The doctor asked me how Delilah’s appetite was. I said veracious, and that she had been drinking a lot of water. The Vet told me those are common side effects from SARDS along with weight gain.
The Vet did a full blood workup, and the results came back a week later as just fine. But Delilah was irreversibly blind from SARDS.
I was in shock — I have had dogs all my life and never heard of this.
When we got home from the Vet is when it hit me — my little Delilah will never see my face again. She will not bark at the strangers. We would never play her favorite game of keep-away again. She will never see the daylight ever. She will never see her garden again.
That night I held Delilah as I always have and I cried. I was terrified for her. I did everything I could to protect her and help her, such as putting cushions and bubble wrap on all areas she might bump. I got online and even bought some drops for her as well as ordering her an Optivizor. I was determined to do everything I could for her. I even carried her everywhere. I had pity for her.
I kept thinking about all of the silly playing we did in the past. I went through my computer and we watched all the videos together of us playing. I was heartbroken. It is very hard to even write about this now.
“Daddy got you girl, no worries…”
Watching Delilah stumble and bump into things just tore me up inside. I watched her as she froze and shook with fear. I would grab her up hug her and say “Daddy got you girl, no worries.”
Delilah would scooch up beside me and sit pretty and lay her head on my chest. She would turn her head up and with her black eyes looked in my direction. I know she was scared. I felt like she was looking at me and saying “Daddy I need you now more than ever. Help me.”
To help Delilah I put cardboard sides on her steps along with a barrier on the foot of the bed. We cushioned everywhere she could bump into. We finally came to the understanding that we needed to let her figure out things on her own because I may not be there for her every moment.
Soon after, I joined the the Facebook Group “Blind Dogs.” I learned so much from the stories and I got so excited and motivated when I started watching videos of what blind dogs can do. I started working on commands like ‘touch,’ ‘back up,’ ‘right,’ ‘left’ and the most important one, ‘stop.’ I started treating Delilah like I did before, no more pity party. We are gonna be like those dogs in the videos. It was time to toughen up buttercup.
And Delilah adapted beautifully to her blindness…
One day I was sitting outside in my glider chair that built by hand. After about five minutes Delilah got up and walked across the adjoining table and got into the other glider. She laid down with the sun shining on her like she used to last year.
Out of the blue she knew where she was and she was doing her own thing again. Delilah had not been on the gliders since last year. That is when I knew we, especially Delilah, were gonna be just fine.
As I write this, it has only been a little over three months since Delilah lost her sight. And yet today again at the grocery store a guy collecting the buggies in the parking lot couldn’t believe Delilah is blind.
After putting the groceries in the trunk, I took Delilah out of her bag and set her on the ground. I had to hang on cause she took off. I barely had time to close the trunk. Delilah hustled double time straight to the side of the building where they have grass. There was no slowing down. Delilah was back.
Here’s a video of Delilah courageously forging ahead at the park three months after she became blind:
So my advice to those who have a dog that has recently lost their vision is this…
Let your dog go do their thing at their own pace, and hang on because it is an amazing journey that they will take you on. You will be amazed everyday at how fast your fur babies will adapt.
Here’s a great story about a judge who adopted a blind pug. Check out the way Mikey follows the judge up and down the stairs, through the rooms of the courthouse, etc. You’ll even see Mikey sing at the end!
Need a little inspiration from a dog who doesn’t seem to know she’s blind? Meet Lily.
Lily was born blind with detached retinas. Eventually she lost both her eyes, one to an infection and one to glaucoma. Fortunately, however, she found Pat Fairless who adopted Lily when she was 14 months old.
If you think blind dogs don’t have a good quality of life, then this video should change your mind. Here you’ll see Lily running as free as the wind, swimming, navigating sand dunes and much more. Take a look…
If you’re a little worried about your dog going blind, then you’re going to love this story from Ginger and Ella. Here it is, in Ginger’s own words:
“I sometimes see post regarding folks being very upset about the diagnosis of their dog going blind. I totally understand that feeling. I was so upset when I heard about my Ella’s Glaucoma and that it would take my baby’s eyes. Her eyes!! I remember thinking that she will never see the ocean. Why did I have this thought? No idea. I live in the dry desert of Arizona! I just felt so sorry for her that so many crazy thoughts crossed my mind. I wish I could tell everyone that it will be okay and you are going to be amazed! I know you will hear this a lot and think, I just don’t know.
Just wait…
Fast forward six months later.
My blind dog rocks! I love that she walks with her head held high. I love the shocked look on people’s faces when they realize she has no eyes. I hear all the time, “You would never realize she was blind if you did not know!” I love watching her figuring things out. I love how she is so fearless. A little too much at times for my comfort, but I let her try when I know she won’t get hurt. I love how she listens intently and follows sounds/smells. Although, I still cringe sometimes inside when she bonks into something, my girl just shrugs it off and goes another route. Is she the same dog as she was with eyes? No. She is my new improved version with so many different qualities that have made her even more amazing to me. Ella just keeps putting one big paw in front of the other. She taught me to do the same.
Although, the initial diagnosis is very shocking, there is an amazing dog still waiting for you at the end of sight. Ella may have lost her eyes, but I see very clearly now. Xx”
