There’s a dog lover’s saying that goes “Blind Dogs See with Their Hearts.” In our case, our hearts were captured by a blind and partially deaf West Highland White Terrier Poodle mix named Stevie who was living at Bichon and Little Buddies Rescue. I posted a while back about Stevie and since that time, my family and I have fallen head over heals in love with him. That being said, we officially adopted Stevie and will be bringing him home tomorrow!
We’ve been educating ourselves about the precautions we need to take to prepare our home for his safety and we’re good to go. We’ve put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, raised all exposed cords, created a ‘safe spot’ for him and even put a low fence in an area of the yard that will give him a frame of reference when he’s doing his business outside. We’ve hung jingle bells by the front door so he can tell when we open it, and we’ve hung a small bell on Toby’s collar so Stevie can hear him coming. He’s been added to our pet insurance, a vet visit has been scheduled and we’ve booked our first grooming appointment (our groomer has a blind dog as well). He’s got his own bed set up, a new set of toys and treats, a smart little collar, a tag telling others that he’s blind and a comfy harness for walks. We even bought a classical music CD to play for him at night because that’s what he’s used to hearing at the shelter.
I’ve joined several online groups for owners of blind dogs, downloaded multiple articles, bought several books and talked to everyone I know that has any experience with blind dogs.
We’re so excited to have Stevie as a member of our family. He is a very special little dog with a huge heart and a lot of love to give. And we have a ton of love waiting for him. I know he has quite a bit to teach us and we’re so blessed to have found him.
Soon you’ll be reading much more about Stevie, Toby and all of our wonderful adventures together!
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