Blind puppy

[RDZCRanch]

Okay everyone! I need some in put to what everyone thinks.

Two days ago some Korean clients called our vet office and spoke with the veterinarian. They wanted to know the prices for euthanasia because they had a blind dog that they didn't want anymore. The doctor told them to maybe slow down and think about it a little more and asked the dogs age...ONLY SEVEN MONTHS!!!:banghead: So he asked them to please bring the dog in and we could do an exam and if they didn't want him we would take him. Well...a few hours later this little Korean guy walks in the door with the cutest little yorkie I've ever seen (he looks like a teddy bear) and he kept trying to throw the pup at me and demanding "I throw it away! I throw it away! I no want take here...I just throw away! You take!" I asked him to wait for the doctor and tried to get the dog's weight. The owner refused because he thought I misunderstood that he just wanted to throw the dog away and wasn't there for an exam. Needless to say, the doctor went in and spoke with him for a few moments then came out and had me print him out a release of ownership form. The guy signed it and apparently it wasn't even his dog...it was his son's dog but his son didn't have the guts to bring him in himself. I asked the doctor why they didn't want him and he told me that it was because he's been blind since birth so they never potty trained him and they make him sleep in a separate room so he gets scared and cries at night.

Now...this dog has been attached to me since he came in except for the first night when the doctor wanted to take him home to monitor his behavior. Dr. Kim has a four year old very excited, animal loving, high pitched daughter. She kept picking up the puppy with "and the doggy goes here...no the doggy goes here!" All this and this sweet little guy never snapped or tried to bite even though he was terrified. The vet brought him back to the office that night because he didn't want his daughter to harm him. I took him home the following night and I didn't hear one peep out of him...he just slept cuddled up to me and he didn't have any accidents on the bed. He did poop in the house once last night and also in the vet office. Since then I've taken him outside regularly and he's gotten very good at figuring out that's where he poops and pees. He also gets along WONDERFULLY with my other three dogs. The first time he met them he got a little snippy but ten minutes later he was trying to bounce around the yard with them and play. He's already used to me and can find me by scent or sound...everyone else just confuses him. He's been with me 24 hours a day for the last couple days...even when I'm at work he sits on a chair next to me and doesn't move.

I really shouldn't be but I'm already in love with this dog and everyone that's come in and heard his story has wanted to adopt him. I would really like to keep him because he's so attached to me already and I know that with the pack we already have and with me moving in a couple months and not having a job where we're moving I'll have plenty of time to devote to him. He requires a small amount of extra care and for obvious reasons cannot be left alone. I really love this dog already because of his mellow personality and obviously his attachment to me and for some reason he just fits perfectly with the other three we already have(they are ALL black and tan...people keep joking that I'm building a killer black and tan army:neener.

Now, since he attached to me so quickly I have to assume that he would do the same in another home. I don't know if I'm just not giving other people enough credit but everyone who has applied I can put one reason or another to why they shouldn't have him. The first applicant has two large boxers, and while they are very well trained and mellow...I worry that they'll harm him by stepping on him or scare him because they're so large. The second applicant has a cocker spaniel that is extremely dog aggressive and untrained and the owners don't want to deal with potty training so they are obviously out. The third applicant lives in a condo and has a pomeranian, the pom is well trained but has never been around other dogs so she doesn't know how he'll respond and she's also worried about the potty training.

So, I need some help from outside because I feel that I'm making excuses for why these people shouldn't have him so that I can keep him.:hair: My boyfriend doesn't want to keep him because he's afraid that he'll be too much for me to handle. He feels that with the animals we already have (2 cats, 3 small dogs, 38 chinchillas) I won't have the extra time to devote to this little guy. My argument is that we will be moving to a place where I don't have a job so I'll have more than enough time to spare. As always...my mom is on his side and thinks that because there are three families willing to adopt I should just let him go. I have to make a decision by Monday and this is just tearing me up!:tantrum: Any input you guys have would be GREATLY appreciated...when I find my cord I'll put up the pictures I have of him.

 

[ABBY W.]

OK, to me the first applicants sound ok, provided the boxers are not going to be aggressive with him. He sounds like a tough little guy, plus he's blind, so I don't think he will find their size to be scary...he can't see them. I'm not sure how I would feel about the third applicant, seeing as she has worries and doubts, and you don't want this little guy to end up being re-homed again.

I totally understand how you feel about wanting to keep him. But, if you are living with your boyfriend, and he is not ok with it, keeping him will only cause problems for you guys.

 

[RDZCRanch]

You have some very good points Abby. My boyfriend is very understanding of the animals I already have and he's even ok with me adding more chinchillas. I wouldn't want to take on another pet without his approval.

That first applicant is sounding like a good home the more I think of it. The owner is a client that I would trust to do everything in her power to give him a comfortable home. She's also one that spares no expense to keep her animals healthy. One of her boxers just had an $800 surgery to remove and biopsy some suspicious lumps and she also has a horse that she maintains very well. She and her husband have money to burn and she's very patient and good at understanding animals. If she can train two boxers I'm more confident that she can handle a blind little pup. This is why I asked for feedback, lol. I knew I was just making excuses but the more input I have the easier it is for me to make a decision. I'm still undecided as of yet but this definitely gives me more to think about.

Thanks Abby!

 

[Ippo456]

38 chinchillas? Wow!
Anyhoo, I read that blind dogs are actually easier to train because they are more alert & learn faster. I just hope that whoever decides to keep this dog doesn't do so out of pity; blind dogs don't need to be pitied, they need to be treated the same as other dogs because these blind dogs are as capable, if not more.
Good luck, he sounds like a sweetheart.

 

[eroomlorac]

I am curious why you say "and for obvious reasons he cannot be left alone"? He could certainly be crate trained and I would imagine it would give him some confidence and security to have a place to call his own and learn some independence.

I, personally, would keep the dog but I don't live with anyone who can tell me "no". I'm sure there are other families who could love this dog to pieces and do right by him, but I do understand how you feel. Let us know what you decide.

 

[AnnShh]

Are you planning to get a job after you move? Something to take into consideration is that if "he can't be left alone" (which I don't buy, btw.... he could certainly be crate trained), what are you going to do if you get another job that doesn't allow you to bring him?

 

[Snickers]

You are moving so that will be a big change and a lot of work. If you decide to get a job you will not have the time to spend with the puppy. I would say go with the 1st applicant since they seem to provide for their animals.

If I didn't have too many dogs I would like to have put my name as an applicant. I almost adopted a puppy from the pound that was deaf and blind earlier this year. This rescued group that worked with blind dogs ended up adopting her.

 

[starleomach]

I believe Peggy has a blind dog....She leaves him alone sometimes I am sure. I don't understand why obviously he cannot be left alone? I have a deaf dog who I leave daily to go to work.

 

[tunes]

Yup! I have a completely blind newfie. There's no way I can be here 24/7, so he gets crated and does just fine. He doesn't like it, because he's a big beast (150 pounds so far) and even a dane crate is a little bit squishy, but he's fine with it. I don't leave him in there for 10 or 12 hours, obviously, but I do have to go places and do things and can't be tied to Sam every waking moment of the day.

Keep in mind, he came to me as an adult and was from a puppy mill where they were going to auction him off for breeding. He didn't even know what a human is, let alone how to act in a house, what it was like to go iut in a yard, etc. He did have a few bumps and bruises at first, while he got to know the yard completely, and if you change things you have to show him a couple times so that it doesn't scare him that "this" isn't here now or "that" has been moved. Other than that, he does really well. He's never pooped in the house. He has peed several times but that's been more our fault than his.

I don't know as I would have a little tiny dog with big dogs. Honestly, Sam is forEVER tripping over my dogs when he gets excited and just wants to be in the middle of things. Luckily, my dogs don't get too cranked up about it. They might give a warning grumble if he does it several times, but other than that they have adjusted really well to him. It would concern me with a little dog that he would get excited, run in the middle, and before the big dogs could stop themselves he would get stomped. Then again, I'm not a little dog person. Maybe they can all be trained to be careful of each other. I'm just going by this big goofy beast of a thing I have here, where nothing in his path is safe.

I would like to slap the morons who wanted to put him to sleep just because he's not perfect. It doesn't take a whole lot more effort to take care of a blind dog than it does a sighted dog, and if you gave a darn about the animal it wouldn't matter anyway.

 

[saphire]

I would not assume that he would be the same with everyone, he seems to enjoy your company,feel safe with you. I believe you want to keep this little guy.

Soooo, asking everyones opinion on a question you already the answer will only make it that much more difficulte and confussing.
Since you already know the answer to your questions, I would ask opinions on how you could make his life with you pleasant and enjoyable for all. He will become part of your daily routine like all your other furry luvbugs.

You most likely know that you will go crazy if you let him go.

Hope all goes well.

Good luck in which every way you go.

Oh, I am sure he will not be requiring that much more work than the orders, if any.

 

[RDZCRanch]

For the "for obvious reasons he can't be left alone" I guess I should have clarified a little more(sometimes something makes sense in my head and I forget that you guys aren't actually HERE, lol). He is being crate trained and doing really well with it but because he is unfamiliar with the territory, for now I don't feel comfortable leaving him to roam the house alone when we're here. He gets lost very easily and has run into everything at least five times now, lol. The other three were also crate trained when they first came here as puppies so we've got plenty of crates handy.

The boyfriend is still very strongly saying no. He doesn't believe that I'm thinking this through at all. I've already discussed how it is to live with a blind dog with a friend of mine that had a blind Chow chow for 7 years(became blind at 1yr due to a bad vet giving the wrong medication). She also told me blind dogs are more alert and learn very fast.

I think I'll be letting the first family adopt him. I do trust them and I'll cry like a baby when he's gone but I'm confident that they'll do fine with him. I'm going to offer to take him if they ever don't want him, the boyfriend has agreed that's ok because he dislikes the idea of dogs bouncing from house to house as much as I do. I'll let you guys know how it goes and hopefully they'll keep me updated on him.

 

[saphire]

I hope it works out for all. :0)

 

[RDZCRanch]

Are you planning to get a job after you move? Something to take into consideration is that if "he can't be left alone" (which I don't buy, btw.... he could certainly be crate trained), what are you going to do if you get another job that doesn't allow you to bring him?

I want to try for a job but we're moving to a small town in the middle of nowhere. The only people out there are the families of the men and women who work on the base out there. If by a small chance I would be able to find a job out there...it would be VERY part time.

I spoke to the friend that had the blind chow again and she's either going to take him, her sister is going to take him, or they'll help me find a home that will be more receptive to a blind dog. Hopefully we can find something for him that I'll feel is the right fit. With every other animal I've placed, even if I wanted to keep them, I've always found one family that just felt perfect.