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Ray Charles was our first blind dog. We adopted him on his second birthday-October 8, 1999. We had no idea what to expect when we saw his Petfinder adoption page. We never had any experience with a blind dog before. What we found out was that they are just like any other dog. Ray was blind from birth, so not only couldn't he see, he didn't know he should be able to! He learned our house over a weekend, and could navigate up and down stairs, down hallways, into doorways and around furniture in no time. People were amazed at how well he got around, and some swore he must have been able to see! As he got older, he developed severe arthritis, and then cancer. We released him from his pain on Dec. 30th, 2009. Without him, we would not have known the love that blind dogs have to offer, and BDRA would not be here. Good bye, Ray, we miss you. Karen and Eric.
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My beautiful Great Pyrenees, Sindari, the love of my life for 13 yrs.
He was my first Pyr. He loved his Sibe brothers and watched over and
protected us. I love and miss you Sindari. Sir Sin crossed the
Rainbow Bridge Aug 7, 2005
Bev & Mike Shane Yasha, Yuri, Quinn, Lokai & Tristin
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She was our first Siberian Husky. We had no idea we could find a purebred Siberian
Husky in a shelter. We figured we'd go to the pet store at the mall.
Fate had other plans.My sister in law called me to see if I wanted
to go to the shelter with her, to help her pick out a dog to adopt. I'm
always for playing with dogs, so I went along.We walk in, and there
she was. Second cage on the left. A little black and white, bi-eyed
Siberian Husky. I couldn't believe it. I immediately called Eric, and
told him we had to get to the shelter first thing in the morning,
because we had to adopt a dog (by the time we had gotten there that
evening, adoption hours were over)
We weren't even in our house yet,
so Sasha came home with me for 3 weeks, until we moved. My parents' old
dog hated Sasha and her energy, so she hung in the family room for 3
weeks, where she ate a computer plug, 2 bags of beggin strips, an Elmo
costume, and 3 jars of finger paints. We had pink and blue and purple
pawprints all over the basement, and the couch, and the love seat.
We
knew nothing about Sibes, besides the fact that they're gorgeous. Sasha
gave us an education and fast. She loved to eat the phone book, and any
hardback. She was the boss of the house, keeping
Isis and Ray in line, as well as any fosters we had in the house. As
soon as they came in, she mounted them, so they knew who was boss, and
all was well.
She didn't keep her bossing to dogs. My father in law
was in her spot on the sofa. She squeezed behind him, and shoved him
off the couch, then curled up in his spot and went to sleep.
On March 18th, 2008 we had to put her to sleep. She couldn't get up, could barely move. The cancer had spread so much.
I
can't believe she's gone. I'm waiting for to jump on the bed and shove
me out of the way, or claw me for my breakfast, or jump in my spot when
I got up, or hog the blankets, or do any of the million things she did
every day.
We still miss you, Sasha. Karen and Eric
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Sparky 4/3/94 - 3/13/06
All my daughter wanted for the holidays was a
little black puppy. It was at the top of her list, the bottom of her
list, and sprinkled in between. Sparky came into our lives at eight weeks old.
She was born 4/3/94 to proud parents Magic and Hershey. When we first
brought her home she weighed just 2.2 pounds and you could hold her in
the palm of your hand. She was our first dog. I think her ears were
bigger than the rest of her. My husband and children named her because
she was black with a little white running down her chest. My husband
said she looked like a little spark plug, hence Sparky. Sparky was a petite little girl. She had the
prettiest little face and was the love of my life. She was so soft; she
had such silky thick black fur. If I move my hand I can still feel her
fur. She was my shadow. If I was sick, she would stay snuggled next to
me and never leave. Sparky was about 5 when we adopted Sarah. And she
was definitely a princess. At first she ignored Sarah. She didn't want
us to know she really liked her, but at times we would find them
snuggled together on the steps or on a bed. In October of 2005 I noticed something starting
to protrude from the side of her mouth. We had it removed and it proved
to be cancerous. We were told that oral cancer is one of the worst for
a dog. After speaking with an oncologist we decided not to put her
through treatment. It would have involved travel to NYC and would have
been too stressful on Sparky. It would have possibly given her only a
few extra months at most. She was too good and too sweet to put her
through all that. And so, about 3 weeks before her 12th birthday, my
little baby Sparky lost her battle. It was time and she told me so with
her eyes. My daughter and I held her as we gave her hugs, kisses, and
through tears, our final gift of love. Sparky, you are now free of pain at the Rainbow
Bridge. We miss you so; you taught us the meaning of unconditional
love. Someday we will all be together again. I know that you are with
Grandpa smiling down at us now. We love you so much!! Love,Mommy (Sheila), Daddy (Walt), Cheryl, Matthew, Richard & Sarah
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NIKITA
I wanted a Siberian Husky and for Christmas in 1986 I got my
Nikita. I always wanted a blue eyed boy, but when I got Niki, he was
the one for me. His name means Unconquerable, and Nikita had no fear
of anything. He put Sindari, my Great Pyrenees, in his place right away
without even getting up off the floor. It was my love for Nikita that
got me into Siberian Husky Rescue after he crossed the Rainbow Bridge on
Dec 29th 2000 at the age of 14 yrs and 2 months. Niki was one in a million
Niki so I know how lucky I was to have him. He's running with pride
in his silver harness with all my dogs that passed before him and after, Kim,
Bandit, Chief, Sindari (#1), Sindari (the Pyr) Pirate, Casey, Daisy (my
inherited Pry) and Buffin.
Niki's nickname that he loved to be called was "Dahling"
We love and miss you Nikita.
Your Mommy and Daddy Bev and Mike Shane
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Rastus came to me when I needed him most, on the same day my partner
died. I looked at him at the wake and said to myself "I would love a
dog like him," as he made his way from one person to another, asking
for a pat, but not too worried if he was ignored.
Fate meant he stayed - he was 7 years old, smart, cheeky, and very
active. I knew nothing about dogs - had never owned one before - so he
forced me to learn how to care for him, train him, walk, and feed him.
From the beginning he had collapsing trachea, but it only rarely
slowed him down. He would have "attacks", and I would sit with him,
massage his throat, and comfort him until the attack passed. On one of
these occasions he snuggled closer to me, not to gain comfort but to
comfort me and tell me it was all going to be ok.
He made me laugh, which was so important at that time. He loved cats,
literally. Would go up to them and lick their faces, much to the cat's
confusion. He would chase my cat, and run past when my cat stopped, as
if that was the intention all along. He would have to be told four
times to stop eating the cat's kibble, and only stopped if I put the
bowl up high. If a smell in the grass was interesting, all the calling
in the world wouldn't get him to come back to me.
In October 2009 he developed a cough, which turned out to be
collapsing of his airways lower down. Various treatments were tried,
from various vets, but nothing really helped. He would have one good
day, and two bad. Then on 15 December I found him collapsed on the
floor of his kennel. The vets tried all day to get him stable, but
nothing worked - oxygen, steroids, diuretics. So I made the decision
to let him go. Even the vet had tears in her eyes.
I still look up and expect to see him looking up at me. Rastus, I miss
you, but know you are in a better place now.
Kim
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When Joy came to our door that freezing January 1999, little did we realize what a true gift she was .
Wearing a Montana Vet tag, we called and
were told they would contact the owner with our information. It was a
Rescue who gave us her history. She had just turned 1 yr. old when she
got here. It appears this almost perfect girl had been in 6 different
homes in that one short year. What huge mistakes these prior homes
made not giving her a chance to grow up a little . But what a blessing
for us.
Two years ago this coming Xmas I noted her
eye , having seen glaucoma was shocked to see that look in her left eye
. In June that year she lost her eye . She handled it like the champ
she was . I didn't do too well .
A year later she had a tumor on her elbow
and it was removed . Again she just accepted it . I also was able to
deal with it . In this very time she lost sight in her right eye . She
again amazed us and moved on. I was in awe of her ability to face her
problems and continue , I was not so strong .
The last of July, we noted a small lump on
her spine and rushed her to the vet . It was a calcium build up from
two vertebrae and the future was not bright .. One month later it had
tripled in size and she could barely get up or down. But she did to go
out and do her business . Through all her problems she never made a
mistake in the house.
On August 23, 2008 her vet came over and
released her out in the back on the hill she loved to lay on. She
handled it with all the grace, strength and class this wonderful girl
possessed. Her mother didn't handle it well at all and still is not .
When she closed her eye and left, all the joy in my world went with her
.
If Perfection had a name, it would be Joy.
Jan.21,1999 Aug.23,2008
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We joined BDRA because of our love for our little blind
Pom. He was a rescue from the south, we pulled him and adopted him
"sight unseen" based on his listing as blind, senior and friendly...he
came to us on one of the transport trains from the south that we help
with when we can. I originally adopted him really for me, but my son
fell in love with him when we picked him up on train transport....and
never really put him down after that...he slept with him, watched TV
with him and generally spent all his time with this little guy. My son
is a 6' 2" high school football player and just had to snuggle with
this little 8 pound puff ball. My son also has a cockatiel that is very
attached to him....and whenever my son leaves the room (even if other
people are in it) the bird will shriek for him...very quickly our
little blind guy learned that if the bird was calling like that it
meant that my son had left the room and he would jump up whining and
"looking"....so funny! I would have to call him back to pick both of
them up. We adopted Rizzo with a heart murmur and for the last several
months he had to have a big increase in meds, became incontinent due to
the meds, and had trouble with coughing. This past Monday night, he
passed away at home during the night. I was lucky enough to get a
picture of him with my son at Christmas....such good looking boys! We
miss you Riz!
Kay
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In Memory of Skeeter
April 13, 1994 – August 31, 2009
Skeeter was my constant companion for 15 ½ years. When
I turned twelve, my parents gave me a Shih-Tzu puppy – Skeeter – in
hopes that she would teach me responsibility. She, of course, taught me
much more than that. She saw me through changing friends, many schools
(high school, college, grad school), and many states (we lived in New
Hampshire, New York, Arizona, California). She had a strong
personality, even as she got older, and was spunky and opinionated. The growing cataracts in her eyes didn’t faze her, nor did when she could no longer jump on the bed, or easily on the couch. And
when an eye infection took away the sight in her left eye completely,
she learned quickly to deal with that as well and was patient with the
many medications I had to put in her eye. For three years she had that
big, blind eye. And even though the cataract in her seeing eye
continued to grow larger, and her hearing and her sense of smell
poorer, she was still cheerful, happy, and very loved, both by me and
her adopted dad, Jake.
Skeeter
became sick with complications of old age and died exactly three weeks
later. We’re glad she didn’t have to suffer long. Her wonderful vet was
still telling me that she wasn’t in much pain, might get better, and
not to put her down yet when she died naturally while in my lap. She was graceful, spunky and opinionated to the end.
Skeeter, you are very loved, and much missed. Love, Liz and Jake.
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Buddy, we tried to help you. We're sorry it was too late for you. We wanted to show you that you don't have to fear people.
Godspeed, Buddy. You no longer have to be afraid.
BDRA volunteers
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