Ashley the blind puppy
The
e-mail to us was titled “Blind puppy in need of immediate
rescue.” It came from a Humane Society in Davis, California.
A 10-week old blind puppy had been dumped in their overnight
holding bin. Could we take her? Five days later this joyful
little puppy arrived at the ranch.
Our vets found that Ashley is blind because her retinas are not functioning. There aren't enough blood vessels feeding the retina, giving her a form of progressive retinal atrophy. There is no surgical or medical fix for this.
Ashley is a lot smaller than she appears in these photos, weighing all of 10 pounds. She is the youngest, smallest puppy we've ever had. She is totally blind and yet, like our other born-blind animals, she is completely intrepid. She will go anywhere and do anything, just to see if she can.
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She marches around, taking big exaggerated steps to feel her way along, and then she puts each paw down with a determined 'thump!' It sounds like a tiny Roman legion heading our way. In fact, when you first watch her play and romp, your only clue that something is ‘different' about this puppy is how she smacks her little paws on the ground.
She is adorably cute, playful, inquisitive, and affectionate. In short, she's your perfect puppy. Except she can't see. But she doesn't know that's a handicap, because she doesn't know what sight is. She assumes the world is dark for all of us, so she's not at any disadvantage. That's why our born-blind animals are so confident. It is truly inspiring to see a little blind girl like Ashley just take charge of life. It never occurs to her that she shouldn't.
