Blind dog gets his own dog guide
March 11, 2011 9:29 AM Subscribe
I can't even watch, just the headline gets me a little teary.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:32 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:32 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
Ah, god. What? No, I'm not crying, it's just my contacts. Shut up.
posted by RokkitNite at 9:32 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by RokkitNite at 9:32 AM on March 11, 2011
The two dogs have become fast friends, and they make presentations to local school groups together.
There is something missing in this sentence.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:33 AM on March 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
There is something missing in this sentence.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:33 AM on March 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
The blind who led the blind. Pretty cute story.
posted by unwordy at 9:36 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by unwordy at 9:36 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
This sounds like the starting point to a M. C. Escher drawing.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:37 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:37 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
"I say, I say, I say, my dog has no eyes."
"How does he look?"
"Awful."
posted by raygirvan at 9:38 AM on March 11, 2011 [4 favorites]
"How does he look?"
"Awful."
posted by raygirvan at 9:38 AM on March 11, 2011 [4 favorites]
Yo dawg, I hear you like dawgs leading dawgs
posted by fusinski at 9:44 AM on March 11, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by fusinski at 9:44 AM on March 11, 2011 [8 favorites]
Take it to MeTa.
posted by IvoShandor at 9:50 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by IvoShandor at 9:50 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
I was walking my black lab on a local trail, and ran into a large golden retriever that had lost its eyes also. The owner told me that she was ready to put him down, but the vet convinced her to take him home and see how things worked out. Amazingly - the dog adapted very well to his new senses, and could make his way around the house flawlessly.
My own dog checked him out and deemed him to be a good doggy too. The owner told me that most other dogs act slightly protective of her blind dog when they first meet. The two dogs then did what they did best and ran ahead on the trail, sniffing out interesting smells. The blind followed my dog - following his scent, and trusting him not to lead him into danger.
As much as I hate anthropomorphism and pets - I think there is a lesson in there for all of us.
posted by helmutdog at 9:54 AM on March 11, 2011 [28 favorites]
My own dog checked him out and deemed him to be a good doggy too. The owner told me that most other dogs act slightly protective of her blind dog when they first meet. The two dogs then did what they did best and ran ahead on the trail, sniffing out interesting smells. The blind followed my dog - following his scent, and trusting him not to lead him into danger.
As much as I hate anthropomorphism and pets - I think there is a lesson in there for all of us.
posted by helmutdog at 9:54 AM on March 11, 2011 [28 favorites]
We need just one more dog in the mix and we'd have ... The Canine Centilead.
posted by adipocere at 9:57 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by adipocere at 9:57 AM on March 11, 2011
Turtles all the way down. Or guide dogs, as the case may be.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:03 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:03 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
The two dogs have become fast friends, and they make presentations to local school groups together.
Labradors aren't very good at presentations. You need to use a Pointer.
posted by rh at 10:03 AM on March 11, 2011 [45 favorites]
Labradors aren't very good at presentations. You need to use a Pointer.
posted by rh at 10:03 AM on March 11, 2011 [45 favorites]
I've got allergies! In both eyes!
posted by lumpenprole at 10:05 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by lumpenprole at 10:05 AM on March 11, 2011
And these have smaller fleas that sight 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum.
posted by pracowity at 10:18 AM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
And so proceed ad infinitum.
posted by pracowity at 10:18 AM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
I like how the blind dog considerately desaturated himself, knowing that he doesn't need color anymore!
posted by ignignokt at 10:18 AM on March 11, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by ignignokt at 10:18 AM on March 11, 2011 [6 favorites]
I take care of dogs training to by guide dogs, and they never cease to amaze me, what a great story!
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 10:40 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 10:40 AM on March 11, 2011
What a great story! *Sniff*
posted by Bron-Y-Aur at 11:00 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by Bron-Y-Aur at 11:00 AM on March 11, 2011
This is a lovely story!
But that dog must have been so confused when he woke up and couldn't see. I'm sure he adjusted but it makes me so sad to think of that. I am interested in helmutdog's story of seeing another similar dog who had lost not only his sight but his eye - what is the condition that causes them to have to be removed?
Or do I just want to cuddle my aging dog and not know?
posted by DarlingBri at 11:29 AM on March 11, 2011
But that dog must have been so confused when he woke up and couldn't see. I'm sure he adjusted but it makes me so sad to think of that. I am interested in helmutdog's story of seeing another similar dog who had lost not only his sight but his eye - what is the condition that causes them to have to be removed?
Or do I just want to cuddle my aging dog and not know?
posted by DarlingBri at 11:29 AM on March 11, 2011
But that dog must have been so confused when he woke up and couldn't see. I'm sure he adjusted but it makes me so sad to think of that. I am interested in helmutdog's story of seeing another similar dog who had lost not only his sight but his eye - what is the condition that causes them to have to be removed?
The owner told me that one of his eyes was lost due to an accident - and he was doing fine being an one eyed dog. But he then lost his other eye when he was attacked by a rottweiler whom injured him badly. Needless to say - the owner was heartbroken - but she said the dog adjusted to his new circumstances incredibly quickly. Watching him follow my dog - you did not have the that he was blind at all. He ran as freely and joyfully as my doggy did. Just being an awesome happy doggy!
posted by helmutdog at 11:40 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
The owner told me that one of his eyes was lost due to an accident - and he was doing fine being an one eyed dog. But he then lost his other eye when he was attacked by a rottweiler whom injured him badly. Needless to say - the owner was heartbroken - but she said the dog adjusted to his new circumstances incredibly quickly. Watching him follow my dog - you did not have the that he was blind at all. He ran as freely and joyfully as my doggy did. Just being an awesome happy doggy!
posted by helmutdog at 11:40 AM on March 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
When I was a kid, we trained our dog to fetch her leash on command. She eventually went blind from.cataracts, something we first noticed when she started fetching belts for us. She seemed to be a happy blind dog though.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:48 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:48 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
I adopted a ~10 month old lab who was already going blind from a genetic defect, but we didn't know it for at least a year. We thought he just bumped into more things than most dogs. By the time we found out he was about 80% blind, we'd already taught him how to swim in specific directions to retrieve his toy, to walk on "this side" of a signpost or other obstacle, to keep going in a straight line, and a bunch of other commands that we didn't know we were directing to a blind dog. And he was already following a seeing canine (girl)friend around, who acted as his guide. Dogs adapt remarkably well. They don't have existential crises; they just seemingly go "Huh, ok. This is what's happening now. Got it."
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 11:54 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 11:54 AM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
this world needs more stories about dogs and fewer stories about republicans.. they both make me cry, but I'm preferring the catharsis of a good dog story over the bile producing tears resulting from status quo politics.
thanks for the link!
posted by tomswift at 12:09 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
thanks for the link!
posted by tomswift at 12:09 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
I saw this yesterday, and it made me cry.
Damn you, Internets, knock that off!
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 12:25 PM on March 11, 2011
Damn you, Internets, knock that off!
posted by OneMonkeysUncle at 12:25 PM on March 11, 2011
I used to ride a horse who, after his retirement, went blind. He was best friends with another horse who would come get him from his stall in the mornings. The blind horse would put his chin on the other horse's rump, and be led to breakfast in the pasture. The seeing horse would also guard him so that the other horses couldn't steal his food. In the evening, he'd lead him back to his stall. The seeing-eye horse was fiercely protective of the blind horse, and took very good care of him until he finally passed away.
The story of the dogs is just what I needed after being focused on Japan/Wisconsin all day. Thanks.
posted by OolooKitty at 5:35 PM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
The story of the dogs is just what I needed after being focused on Japan/Wisconsin all day. Thanks.
posted by OolooKitty at 5:35 PM on March 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
Dogs are probably the best things the human race has ever made. There's not a great work of art I can think of that even vaguely compares to the sheer joy one gets from a puppy dog. Wolves are kickass of course, but you can't scratch their bellies. Pity not a whole lot of people have much respect for dogs, and treat them as a piece of furniture to be installed in the back yard like a birdbath, slopping down a can of food for them if they remember them at all. Dogs rule. I will fight any man who says he doesn't like dogs.
posted by tumid dahlia at 7:17 PM on March 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by tumid dahlia at 7:17 PM on March 11, 2011 [5 favorites]
what is the condition that causes them to have to be removed?
One of my dogs has an eye issues that may eventually lead to needing her eyes removed. Apparently it's a reasonably common issue. As I understand it, the lens in the eye has shifted from where it is supposed to be (in both her eyes). Mostly this means she can't focus, so she's not blind but she really can't see. It also means she can't contract her pupil, so she wears doggy sunglasses in bright light. But it can eventually lead to drainage issues, where pressure builds up in the eye. We have her eyes pressure checked a couple of times a year to make sure they're still okay. So far, so good!
But that dog must have been so confused when he woke up and couldn't see.
It's fortunate that dogs rely so much less on their vision than we do. Animals tend to be pretty accepting about a lot of disabilities, too. "Hey, the world is dark again today, who'd have thought?"* They don't sit around missing what they don't have anymore, they just receive it as a new state of the world. We humans, on the other hand, are under the illusion that we have a lot more control than we really do over the world in which we live. When we lose part of that control, lose something for good, we're fully aware and it's hard to cope.
*Please excuse illustrative anthropomorphism.
posted by galadriel at 7:18 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
One of my dogs has an eye issues that may eventually lead to needing her eyes removed. Apparently it's a reasonably common issue. As I understand it, the lens in the eye has shifted from where it is supposed to be (in both her eyes). Mostly this means she can't focus, so she's not blind but she really can't see. It also means she can't contract her pupil, so she wears doggy sunglasses in bright light. But it can eventually lead to drainage issues, where pressure builds up in the eye. We have her eyes pressure checked a couple of times a year to make sure they're still okay. So far, so good!
But that dog must have been so confused when he woke up and couldn't see.
It's fortunate that dogs rely so much less on their vision than we do. Animals tend to be pretty accepting about a lot of disabilities, too. "Hey, the world is dark again today, who'd have thought?"* They don't sit around missing what they don't have anymore, they just receive it as a new state of the world. We humans, on the other hand, are under the illusion that we have a lot more control than we really do over the world in which we live. When we lose part of that control, lose something for good, we're fully aware and it's hard to cope.
*Please excuse illustrative anthropomorphism.
posted by galadriel at 7:18 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
I had a bad week at school. Thank you for this. It reminded me why I decided to go back to school in the first place--to study, help, and work with animals--because they are far better creatures than I will ever be.
posted by Surinam Toad at 9:04 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Surinam Toad at 9:04 PM on March 11, 2011 [2 favorites]
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posted by Deathalicious at 9:30 AM on March 11, 2011