Dusty the blind sled dog
Once
the lead dog for a musher's sled dog team, Dusty developed
glaucoma. First one eye went blind, and the musher had it
surgically removed. Then, left untreated, the second eye went
blind, too. Dusty was only two years old, but now he was considered
useless in the world of professional sled dog racing.
The musher called our vet to say he was bringing her the dog to have it euthanized. Our vet immediately called us to ask if we would take the dog instead. We were still on the phone with her when the musher arrived with Dusty. We said yes.
Instead of euthanizing the poor dog that morning, she neutered him, and then brought Dusty out to the sanctuary late in the day. He was a cowering wreck of a creature - frightened, slinking, jumping at the slightest touch.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Images open in a pop-up window
With plenty of experience with blind dogs, we realized blindness wasn't the cause of his behavior. But we couldn't figure out why he was so terrified and unsocialized. Puzzled, we started asking questions. We then learned there can be a dark side to professional sled dog racing: see www.helpsleddogs.org.
Dusty is already making progress. He is starting to play
with Anna and Widget. He wanders the 5-acre dog paddock on
his own, clearly enjoying the independence to explore at will,
even in his dark world. And one day he will begin trusting
us, and learn not to fear.
