My Story
Here I am, all mucky and stinky just
arrived at the dogs home. My human dad used to starve me and then try and
train me with a big horse whip, my real dad’s here too just next door but I
can’t see him I can only smell him. My human dad brought us here as he
said he couldn’t afford to feed us any more, I think my doggy mum’s still sat
out in the dirty back garden where we all used to live.
The dog rescue isn’t a bad place but
I’m really scared everything's strange and there’s a lot of other dogs here
too. It was a really long two weeks in the rescue centre.
One day a lady called Leanne came to
see me, I was really scared and didn't want to go near her but she had sweeties
and they smelled so good so I made a big jump onto her knee luckily she was sat
on the ground and she made a really loud Ooomph sound! She gave me a sweetie
and a big hug and lots of strokes and scratches, she sat there for ages loving
me while she talked to the lady who looked after me in the kennels, she asked
loads of questions then with one last hug I was put back in the kennel. A
few days later Leanne came back again but this time she had two other dogs with
her, they were really nice to me I liked Kiara most of all though, we
went for a walk then a jog around the field so Leanne could see if I would walk
properly as I was so scared I only crawled every where, I felt much safer with
Kiara and I could follow her so I know I was safe and I actually ran to keep
up. I was then put back in my kennel.
One day I was taken out and put in a car and
overheard the girls talking about going to the vets, when we got there the man
gave me an injection and I fell asleep.
When I woke up I was very sore and my ‘watsits’ had gone, where I don’t
know but they’re definitely not here anymore and awwwww! Don’t think I like the
vet anymore!!!
A week later after the vets Leanne came back to get
me and I was put in a car and we went to her ‘home’. I was so scared I wouldn't get out of the
car, mum tried allsorts and even sweeties wouldn't budge me. In the end mum had to go get Kiara tell her
to jump in the boot and I followed her out.
When I got inside the house Kiara the black one kept growling at me and
Poppy just ignored me, I didn’t mind too much as I’ve never been in a house
before and was busy exploring. I didn't
like the dishwasher it makes a horrid noise and as for the washing machine wow
that's scary, I kept bumping into things but my new mum was there to give me
some hugs when I hurt myself. I tried to
get upstairs at bed time but I just can’t seem to figure them out.
Kiara’s being really horrible and keeps growling,
how am I supposed to know that she’s hidden treats in nearly every corner!!!
Don’t think my mum was happy about me tying to
climb on her knee though.
Mum spent ages putting a bit of rope around my neck and giving me sweets
then taking it off again, I don't like collars as they mean bad times for me but
mum's making it better she says I have to wear one with these little dangly
things called tags just in case I ever get lost!!! Still not sure about it but if mum says it's
ok then I suppose I'll have to wear it.
I went for my first walk today, only just made it
as my mum was trying to put a collar on me.
I don’t like collars they remind me of when I was back there. I was really scared and kept putting my head
between my legs so she couldn’t get at me!!
In the end she just wrapped a lead around my neck and gently coaxed me
along, I was still waiting for the whipping but she just put me in the
car. When we stopped mum tricked me into
a collar and I didn’t want to get out of the car, I really thought this was it
'nasty time' but my mum gave me a hug and a sweetie WOW! how cools that? So I
decided to get out of the car, we were
in some woods and it has a large pond I’ve never known so much water and I
followed Kiara and Poppy as they were swimming and splashing about. It’s great, I’ve never had so much fun, my
mum and her friend were laughing at me.
When we got home mum took the collar off and put it away so I wasn’t
scared anymore. Through out the next few
days mum kept putting the collar on and giving me sweeties and a love then
taking it off, we did loads of times and it only sometimes scares me now.
I heard my mum say that she thinks there’s
something wrong with my eyes and we need to go see someone about it.
A couple of days later we went to the vet and he
said he thought I had congenital cataracts.
I'm totally blind in my left eye and 95% blind in my right, the vet said
he thinks I can only see movement and shadows.
My mum was quite upset about it and asked if it was because of the beating and whipping I had at
my old place but the vet said he thinks it’s a birth defect which made my mum
feel a bit better. He said something
about a specialist but we’re waiting to hear.
Yippee! went back to the woods today I let her put
my collar straight on now as it means we're going for a walkies now not 'nasty
stuff', sometimes I forget though and get really scared but only for a minute
then I remember I’m with my new mum now.
I had a splash about and while we
were there my mum got chatting to a man who was a dog psychologist and was
asking about some training tips and he invited her along to his training class
on Saturday. Mum was all excited and
kept telling me I was going to school, must be good if she’s this happy about
it.
I really like this home thing I get to go out for a
walk everyday. There’s always food and
water and no-one shouts or hits me, I’m really starting to enjoy myself here
but not too sure mums impressed when I start jumping around in the lounge. I think I’ve totalled 2 glasses and a mug so
far with my tail.
Me and Kiara are best mates now and she’s teaching
me how to play. I chase her around and
try and pinch the stick from her then we have a tug of war.
Today is school day, we had to go out without Kiara
and I’m not too sure about stuff without her.
Mum took me to a field with I think it was 5 other dogs with their mums
and dads. I met Brian from Dog Whispers who is my school teacher. I played this game where you
had to find some chicken under a plant pot, there were lots of pots but only
one had chicken under it, once mum had shown me where the pots were I could
smell them and I found the chicken. I
like this game, mum says we can play it again at home. We also played a game of hide and seek - mum
hid ( well she laid down on the floor) so I couldn't see her and then I had to
find her using my nose! I get lots of
cuddles when I find her so I like this game too. Mum is worried as sometimes if I stop for a
sniff I can loose where she is then I just run in a panick looking for her, so
she teaching me 'this way' basically I stand still and mum shouts 'this way' I
turn about a quarter of a circle and wait, when she says 'come' I just run in
that direction and she keeps calling and I end up back with her - how cools
that? I never run off anymore. She's also taught me 'Careful' this means
when I'm getting close to an obstacle I slow down and feel with my body and
nose what it is, if it's ok mum says Hup and I just jump over!! It stops me banging my head most of the time
- sometimes I don't listen but I ususally end up hurting myself so I guess mums
right after all and I'd best just listen to her!! She's also taught me 'Follow' I stick my
nose up her bum and follow where she's going so I can get through gates and
other obstacles safely.
After a quick sleep at home mum took all of us out
to the woods where Brian the guy from training was, I like him he has
chicken!! I think I was supposed to
sniff out some chicken hidden in the woods but wasn’t quite sure what I was
doing so I didn’t make a good job of it!!
I was listening to Brian talking to my mum and he said he trains Search
and Rescue dogs. He’s going to help me
find my way around with my nose and he’s going to train my mum to use a whistle
so I can hear it and do what it says like come back to her and turn left or
right, sit, lay down etc ha ha ha can’t wait until she tries that! I’ll let you know later on how we get on.
We go to a local nature reserve most days and I like it there as there are
lots of grassy places where I can let loose and run around . I’m getting quite
confident now in the places that I know and my mum says I’m totally different
to what I was like 3 weeks ago.
We went for a walk today and it had been raining
really heavily, when I wentonto the grassy safe to run around bit it felt
really strange, I ended up stood in the middle of the grassy patch in mud -
I've never felt mud before and I got really scaredand just froze on the
spot. Mum had to wade in and coax me
out, she was covered in mud! Then she
made me walk through it a few times, I wasn't happy but mums never hurt me so I
did it and then I found out it won't hurt me it's just a bit sludgy and weird
feeling between my toes but at least I wasn't scared anymore, mum was muttering
away to herself about being covered in mud and her toes were wet and cold!!
Kiara taught me how to do the stairs today, we were
really sly and Kiara led me up but I couldn't get back down, I sat at the top
whining and mum had to come and rescue me!
She helped me down then went back into the lounge and quick as you like
Kiara led me back up, she was making funny noises at me that I took to mean
follow me so I did, I was really scared to come back down again so I whined for
mum, she said a few choice words under her breath then said 'I might as well
teach you then' She led me up and down a
few times so I could figure them out and now I can whizz up and down!
I went back to the rehoming centre yesterday as
they were having a fund raising dog show, there were lots of people and dogs
and after the first 10 mins I wasn't scared anymore and really enjoyed myself,
lots of people came and gave me hugs and mum bought me a sausage sandwich as a
treat as I was so good and won ' Best Rescued Dog' in a show!!
Gosh so much has happened to me in the last few
weeks so I’m going for a sleep now and I’ll update what’s been happening soon.
SEPTEMBER 2008
When I came home from the rescue I had kennel cough and mum took me to the vets, the vet said I'd be better off fighting it myself if I could as it would help immunise me, I did get better but Poppy and Kiara caught it! Then when they got better I caught it again only this time it was worse - mum noticed when she got up and the floor and walls in her lounge and kitchen were covered in blood! Think she was quite scared she had a quick look at me and saw blood coming out of my nose and phoned the vet, we went to see him straight away Huh I didn't even get my breakfast!! I had an upper respirotary infection - lots of tablets to take now! and I wasn't allowed out for 2 weeks in case I passed it on to anyone else. I'm all better now though and making up for the few weeks I was quiet, ha ha ha. I'm still going to see Brian every saturday morning and I'm really good at the plant pot game now.
OCTOBER '08
Well I've been to the specialist and I have Bilateral Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, my right eye has some sight but I can't focus, everythings a bit wavy about 5% sight according to the guy. My left eye is definatley dead too, there is nothing they can do so I guess I've just got to live with it but thats ok as I'm really very happy now anyway, I go out for walks in the same place and I know where I can let loose and run amok so I get loads of excercise and Kiara is extra helpful we've made up our own language so I can understand her when she wants to play, or if I'm about to walk on her!! She likes to play hide and seek in the back garden which isn't really fair as she's black and it's really easy for her to hide then she jumps on me, I run away and she just lays down and waits for me to come past her again! It's great fun!
I've learned loads at school I can now find mum with my nose! If I loose her I now stand still and wait for her command of 'this way' I also did some agility, I went over all the jumps, guess when mum says 'jump' I say 'how high'!! We didn't do the obstacles though as they're a bit too high and I'm a bit too heavy if I fall off!!!
JANUARY '09
Well I've had a few chilled months here, not much out of the ordinary has happened until today, when I went out for my morning wee wee it had snowed, never seen snow before it's great fun really fluffy and WET!! On my walkies I had a good time playing in it. Mind you it's never too cold for a paddle in the pond where we go!!!
FEBRUARY '09
Mum took me to some swimming lessons at a local
hydrotherapy centre, she's scared that I'll try and swim in the pond where I
paddle and splash about and maybe get confused and not be able to swim back to
shore so she's trying to build me up!!
I just think she likes the peace when I get back as I'm sooooo
tired!!!! Not sure if I like it, they
put this doggy life jacket on me and there was this lady in the pool with me
holding onto me and I couldn't swim anywhere but i did get a nice shower and
blow dry afterwards, the people were really nice and gave me lots of cuddles
and biscuits! Mum says were going again
so maybe I'll like it better when I get used to it, it's really scary when I
can't see whats happening.
MARCH '09
Managed to
get nose to nose with mums parrot today, don't think she likes me though as she
managed to pull a beak full of hair out of me and then bit me!! Mum laughed and found it
really funny, cheers mum!
I still see Brian the dog trainer, we
all go for walks together in the woods which is great fun as there's only Brian
and mum with 8 dogs between us!! I'm getting better at the swimming
now, still not sure I like it but it does get rid of all my excess energy so
I'm a bit mor chilled around the house, mum's eventalking about getting some
new mugs and glasses now !!!
AUGUST '09
Things have been going along nicely
then I got fleas! yuck !! Mum tried everything to get rid of
them but because of my fur we just couldn't get rid so I went and had a hair
cut, grade 1 all over for me, that'll teach the pesky little
things!! I do feel so much better now though and it's
so much cooler for me.
OCTOBER '09
Phew how busy have I been This last few months, I've been really
poorly too!
Let me see. where to start, ummmmmm . . . .
Oh yeah, My mate Kiara, well she's smart, so smart that she's
learnt to open the cupboard doors in the kitchen and after mum had been
shopping to get stuff for her xmas cake making she thought she'd hidden all the
dried fruit at the back of the cupboard but Kiara watched and waited !!
When mum had gone out Kiara opened the cupboard door and we feasted on about
3lbs of dried fruit. Yum Yum, well the yummy bit lasted until I started
feeling a sick, Kiara and Poppy were feeling a bit off it too and were off
their food for a day or so but not me, I couldn't eat for 3 days so mum took me
off to the vets who told her to just feed me chicken and rice - Yipee - and
they gave me an injection, that'll teach me to steal !! to settle my
tummy, that was on the saturday, by Tuesday I still felt really poorly and was
drinking loads but not eating so mum took me back to the vets, when she
explained what had happened with the fruit the vet was very concerned and went
off to check something out, he came back 2 minutes later and told mum that
dried fruit was really poisonous to dogs and that he thought I'd gone into
renal failure and if I had the outlook wasn't good!! I was admitted
straight away and put on a drip. Mum was really worried, they came and
took blood from me and phoned mum the following day to say that the blood work
had come back and it wasn't renal failure and I was booked in for x-rays the
following day. Mum got a call the following afternoon to say that there
wasn't anything definate on the x-rays but she had two choices 1) treat me for
an upset tummy and see what happens, bearing in mind I hadn't eaten now for
over a week so if it was left much longer I'd be too weak for the anaesthetic
or 2) operate and check my intestines out, although he couldn't see anything
definate he just had a feeling, mum asked what he would do if it was his
own dog and the vet said he'd go in as if his hunch was wrong at least it ruled
out most major causes! So operate he did, I don't remember much but
listening to the vet talking to mum I was lucky to survive, there was
something weird in my belly like plastic stuff which had perforated my lower
intestine in one part and blocked another part and all the goo in my intestines
had leaked out into my belly!! I was cleaned and stitched up and
within hours of waking up was able to eat a little bit and keep it down!!
Almost a week from when I was taken in I was allowed to go home, phew, never
tHought I'd get to see mum again. Mum eventually after she'd stopped
chanting 'thank god he's insured!!' worked out that not only had I eaten the
fruit I'd eaten the bag too and the sealed bit at the bottom was what had
caused all the trouble.
I'm ok now though just not allowed out on my nice long walkies
for a while.
2010 - 2011
Well I've had a lovely year, only one incident!! Mainly a
round of breakfast, walkies, sleeping and playing!! With a few
changes of routine - we went on holiday to stay with mum's brother in Scotland
and we had some lovely walks, I even got to play in the sea, I liked feeling
the waves crashing over me but they don't taste very nice!!!!
I went for my usual walkies and the forestry commision has made
some changes, neither mum or me saw the new posts and Bang I ran straight into
one! ow ow ow I took all the skin off the top of my nose!!
July '10
We were out
for a walkies when we turned a corner and these two big shepherds came over the
fence and attacked Poppy! Luckily she
was really quick and they didn't manage to grab hold of her, Poppy made her way
back to mum and as I was on the lead I couldn't help until Poppy got them close
enough, I lunged, pulled mum over and dragged her on her bum to the shepherds
and got stuck in, I grabbed one by the shoulders and threw him on the ground
then pinned him down by his neck ! The
other shepherd ran away. Mum got up and
pulled me off and the dog ran away.
Poppy was well pleased with me for saving her. Mum was shocked and kept saying ' Wow, I
didn't know he had it in him!!'
We went for a
group walkies with Bri and all his dogs again, mum was telling Bri about what
happened with the shepherds and asking for some ideas as what to do as I'm not
very friendly towards other lively, bouncy dogs now, I'm scared in case they
attack any of us so I think I'd be better getting in first. I'm ok with nice calm dogs though, they don't
scare me! Mum and Bri were chatting
away and I was wondering around with all the other dogs, I feel ok with these
as they're all calm and I've known them for ages so mum let me off lead. We'd been walking for a while when Bri's
labrador found a stick and decided she wanted to play so she got all bouncy, I
didn't even think about it just grabbed hold of her and threw her to the ground
and held her there until she'd calmed down.
Luckily she wasn't hurt just a upset.
Mum put me back on the lead and I stayed on it for the rest of the walk,
I know she gets upset too but I just can't help myself.
Went for a
walk in a different place today, I went running around and ended up in a pool
of goo!!! There had been some cows about
and boy did I smell like it!!
I had to have a bath :) It took 3 shampoos to get the gunk off as by
the time we got home it had dried on, mum made some funny noises while she was
scrubbing me!!
Mum's got a
new boyfriend - Bri - and he's trying to make me like him, I do really but I'm
not telling him cos he gives me loads of cuddles and sweets - bribery's a
lovely thing!! He comes on walkies with
us and Kiara really likes him as he throws her ball way further than mum can!
Oooh I forgot mum taught me to run alongside her bike,
we had a few bumps and crashes to start with but mum was going really slowly so
I didn't hurt myself, she sounded so
silly riding along and singing out loud so I could hear where she was! hahaha
When I'd mastered jogging along we went out one day with Bri, Kiz and Pop and
when we got near the end there's a long straight bit so mum said lets see how
fast Bailey can run and she started peddaling and I had run the fastest I's
ever run to keep up, it was brilliant and I really enjoyed it, in fact when we
stopped I went a bit over the top I was so pleased with myself, I loved the
feeling of my tongue lolling about, the wind in my fur, mum was laughing and
crying all at once and giving me loads of hugs and pats, when Bri caught up she
said to him ' that must be the first time he's ever run flat out as fast as he
can and he's nearly 3 years old! how sad is that? that he's never had that
feeling before?' Bri agreed and so did
I, It was brilliant.
December '10
The snow in December was great I like it when it's cold
but the snow did get all bobbly on my legs and feet until mum covered my paws
in vaseline which stopped it happening.
It was a bit scary as everything was white so I couldn't even pick out
the fences etc and I had a couple of bumps but nothing serious, mum kept a
careful eye on me.
February '11
We've all moved house now and this one is much bigger
so I can run around and be silly without bumping into too much. It's got a great big garden so I can let off
some steam and best of all Bri lives with us now so I get double the hugs.
We go walkies at the woods now instead of the pit top,
Poppy and Kiara like it as there's loads of squirrels and rabbits for them to
chase! Me, I'm not keen, there's loads
of dogs here and I'm never sure if they're going to hurt me so I'm so tense all
the time waiting for it, I won't let any dog come near us now - Just in case.
Mum's been on the phone to a few different
behaviourists about me but no-one seems to know what to do with me! It's because I'm blind, all the usual stuff
won't work as I can't see the other dogs body language to know whether they are
friendly or not. One said maybe I
should be muzzled but mums not happy with idea.
May '11
We had a lady come out who did TTouch, it's a bit like
doggy massage, I liked that bit, then she put some bandages around me and it
felt like I was being permanently hugged, I just laid down and didn' move!!!
Went to the park with Bri and the kids today and this
white dog came out of no-where and ran straight up to me and got in my face, it
scared me so I grabbed it, Bri shouted at me and I let go and the white dog ran
away, I heard Bri muttering 'where's this dogs owners' 'what's it doing out by
itself'.
June '11
Mum spoke to another behaviourist who suggested we all
start going back to the pit top where I know and it's quieter as it will
hopefully de-stress me, it is a lot quieter there and we rarely see another dog
so at least I get chance for some off-lead running around but as soon as mum
sees another dog I have to go back on lead now.
Mum mentioned about the muzzle and this behaviourist said 'absolutley
not' it will take away the only defence I have and could make me worse.
Things have settled down a bit now, mums still not
given up though she's emailed some people and we're waiting to hear.
August '11
Went to see a lady called Deborah Bragg today from the Canine Behaviour Centre , we had a
very long car journey to get there so mum took us out for a walk first, Kiara
managed to catch a pigeon! She didn't
know what to do with it so I showed her by trying to swallow it whole! Mum shouted at me and opened my mouth and
shook it until the pigeon fell out - she wouldn't let me eat it - Booooo.
When we arrived in Cumbria, we all went for a walk and I met some spaniels, I started to have a go at first but mum pulled me in and made me sit, which I did, the spaniels were quite nice and left me alone so I was ok with them, one of them was growling at me but I think that's because I upset him by lunging at him! We also met an Old English Sheepdog, Deborah told mum to walk past it without me on a lead and to control me with my voice - and she did! She sounded very serious when she told me to 'heel' so I thought I'd best behave!!
Deborah said mum had to do some stuff with me to help me cope with being nervous and wary of other dogs and mum needs to get her confidence back with me as I scared her when I had a go with them other dogs she doesn't trust me anymore :(
Mum liked Deborah and thinks things will get better soon for us, we've got some stuff to work on so I'll let you know how we get on later. Mum got an email from Deborah today saying she'd added me onto her blog, this is what she said:
Saturday, 27 August 2011 09:03
Through my work, I meet all kinds of dogs with all sorts of
problems. The majority of the dogs are very likeable but occasionally I
meet one that I would happily kidnap! Bailey, a wolfhound retriever
cross is just such a dog! This enchanting bear of a dog, who was
rescued at 7 months, has only 5% sight but his owner, Leanne, has done
such a brilliant job training him that you would never know. They came
to see me, along with housemates Poppy and Keira, to iron out a
defensive problem Bailey has developed. It was fascinating to watch how
Bailey keeps close to Leanne until she tells him to go and play when he
bounces about happily on the grass. All 3 dogs went in the duck pond
and without Leanne at his side, Bailey stuck close to Keira, while
enjoying splashing about. I watched him as strangers came up and
stroked him: an experience that must be quite scary when you can't see -
and he took it all in his stride. He didn't even seem bothered when he
walked into a post - but perhaps he has grown accustomed to unexpected
obstacles in his path.
Leanne told me that at one time she worried about Bailey's quality of
life. Yes, he did not have the best start in life and yes, it must be
tough being virtually blind but watching this dog enjoying himself in
the park nobody could question his quality of life now. Dogs like
Bailey can teach us humans a great deal about living with a disability.
Full marks to Leanne for training Bailey to just get on and live the
life of a normal sighted dog. If you want to know more about Bailey -
or coping with a blind dog, do visit her website www.baileysblind.co.uk