Kasey Owen is the type of person who saves bugs that have fallen into water troughs, or any other living being that’s struggling. That’s who she is. And it’s a great way to explain how she ended up with two beautiful and very special blind dogs…
First There Was Cowboy…
It all started when Kasey unexpectedly lost one of her basset hounds to a burst tumor. She visited the Brightside Animal Center’s shelter a few times, where a pair of bassets caught her eye.
There was a catch, though: these two basset hounds, Candy and Cowboy, had to be adopted together. That’s because Candy was blind, and Cowboy served as her eyes.
Kasey fell in love with these dogs. But she worried about Candy. After all, any dog that lived with Kasey would be around horses, and she thought a blind dog might be really scared in that sort of unfamiliar situation. In Kasey’s own words, she “chickened out” and decided not to adopt those two dogs.
Eventually someone else did adopt Candy and Cowboy together. However, one day Cowboy showed back up on the Brightside Animal Center’s website, this time alone. Kasey watched a video of this lovable goofball, and she knew she had to meet him. She made an appointment to see him. And she fell in love with him on the spot and decided to adopt him…
Cowboy’s Eyesight Begins to Falter…
Cowboy had spent six long months in the shelter, which had done a number on his immunity system. Here’s the story in Kasey’s own words…
Respiratory issues plagued Cowboy for the next four months. I spent about 4000 dollars all told, on Lung washes and emergency clinic stays and ex rays and heavy antibiotics.
They thought perhaps he had a congenital problem, so they scoped him and wanted to do MRIs, but I felt like it was his immune system, so that’s what I focused on. I took him to a holistic vet who gave us Chinese herbs that we still use today.
All the while, I noticed he was blind at night because he ran into parked cars and his eyes glowed a beautiful blue in the light at night. This was however not his biggest problem so I let it go for a while to focus on his other issues.
When he was feeling better, I looked up his symptoms on line and Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) is all that came up. I made an appointment with the Eye doctor, who I knew, because she had worked on a horse at the farm where I work. She diagnosed PRA, just like I thought.
It was devastating to hear, but I was also glad he was healthy and happy and we could deal with this now that he was getting over his other issues.
I bought bear bells for my shoes so he would know where I was. I took him to obedience classes and nose work classes. We adapted to his blindness together.
He went completely blind a year after he was diagnosed. The specialist thinks that Cowboy’s blindness was sped up by the heavy antibiotics he was on for so long.
Although I knew the day was coming when Cowboy would go completely blind, that first day was such a shock! I took him to the Dog Park and had to watch him struggle and turn in circles and bark like he was crazy. A lady at the park put her hand in front of her dog as if to protect her, and I just lost it and started to cry.
Yet Cowboy never seemed depressed, and he is still fearless and goes forward into the unknown with such confidence.
It’s true what they say: blind dogs often adapt faster than their humans.
Then Came Dillon…
Skip ahead to 2015, and Cowboy and I were at a nose work class. Our instructor works in the training department of the Brightside animal shelter, and she told me there was a dog there that had PRA and was going to be put to sleep on Thursday. I was surprised because it’s a no kill shelter, but he had been there four months and no one wanted a blind dog. They sent an email to the staff that he would be put to sleep.
Dillon was definitely a staff favorite, and they were all very upset. I thought of reaching out to friends and anyone I knew in rescue to try to save him, but I quickly realized that his best and possibly only hope was me. So I made an appointment to see Dillon with Cowboy, Sam (my other basset hound) and Belle (my poodle).
My mother was in assisted living facility in town. I knew she was going to freak out that I was looking at another dog, so I had not told her yet. I had an appointment for 10:00am Friday morning to meet Dillon. The shelter agreed not to put him down so I could meet him. At about 8:15 that morning my mother’s caregiver called to tell me that my mother had passed away peacefully.
I processed the news and hurried over to the assisted living home to deal with everything. After I finished there, I decided to still go and see Dillon.
It Wasn’t Exactly Love At First Sight For Everyone…
Dillon was rambunctious and full of energy. Belle and Sam didn’t care one way or another. But Cowboy hated him.
Because I felt like Dillon’s only chance at survival, I was determined this would work. I asked my mother for her help too. I’m a saver, I save bugs in water troughs and anything that seems to be struggling, because that’s who I am. Have always been this way.
I couldn’t let everyone down, but no sane person would have watched these two dogs and thought, “Oh yes this will work let’s do this”. Only me.
So I took the three dogs home while Dillon got a bath, and I brought Cowboy with me when I went back to pick up Dillon. On the way home they tried to fight, but Cowboy was tied in the front. I walked them when we got home, and they were marginally okay together in the house.
Two nights later they had their first fight: the entire pack, with three ending in sutures and drains. This wouldn’t be their only fight.
The behaviorist at the shelter felt like Dillon should be an only dog, and because of his eyesight he should not be around children. She was consulted after one of the fights, and she suggested that Dillon be tied up in the house at all times when he and Cowboy are together. Her other suggestion was that Dillon should be rehomed to a single-dog home.
I didn’t accept that advice.I knew I could make this work, because the boys were growing fond of one another.
Dillon loves being part of a pack, he loves children, he loves Cowboy. It’s true…
Dillon was never the instigator, it was always Cowboy, or so it seemed. Cowboy got the better of Dillon in almost every fight. Cowboy is a brutal fighter. I just don’t know if Dillon’s heart is really in it when he’s fighting and that’s why Cowboy wins. Of course there is no winner!
Dillon never started a fight that I could see, but sometimes subtleties are hard to see, so no one gets punished. They punish themselves enough.
I really just believed it could work and it has. It’s been challenging and exciting and frustrating and scary. When I walk all four dogs people stare at us and ask me if they are all mine. We are a spectacle, but it’s fun, and people know us. They are all so good most of the time.
And I feel lucky to have these dogs in my life. I am a proud mamma.
Cowboy and Dillon are so alike, and it’s really strange how they do the same behaviors. They like to lick water off of people, dogs, each other. They always end up on the same bed at work even though there are enough beds to go around. They really seem to be the best of friends… unless of course they are fighting, but the fights are getting fewer and farther between. They are almost like litter mates the way they touch each other. Even after a fight, if I walk them together they recover quickly.
Dillon still sees a little bit, and he loves to run and play with his frisbee. If he sees a Chuckit, it’s game on. He’s always courteous to the other dogs, and people really like playing with him. When they find out he’s going blind they really watch out for him, and I can see them explaining to other people his situation.
I have to stand way back at the dog park because Cowboy can’t deal with the other dogs, and people are so sweet to let Dillon play with them. I always thank them profusely for letting him play. He is just so happy, they really enjoy his enthusiasm. He makes me proud. He is sooo special, so loyal, and so smart. If I can’t find him, it’s because he is standing so close to me I just didn’t look straight down at him.
I always say that I have two blind dogs because one was so easy. They teach me more than I can teach them. They may run into a few things, but they are determined and nothing stops them.
Now most evenings you’ll find Kasey pinned to the couch by two rather large lap dogs…
And you know what? She wouldn’t have it any other way.
