Dogster member Bill sent me an article about Virginia, she’s an older dog who recently went blind. Since there are a lot of Dogsters who have senior dogs, like us, and worry about this issue I thought the article would be of interest.

It goes to show that just because a dog goes blind it doesn’t mean they’re out of the game. Dogs adjust surprisingly well, it’s humans who have a harder time dealing with it.

Jason Torchinsky is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. Jason has a book out now, ‘Ad Nauseam: A Survivor’s Guide to American Consumer Culture’. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is a tinkerer and artist and writes for the Onion News Network. He lives with a common-law wife, five animals, too many old cars, and a shed full of crap

One of my dogs, Virginia, went blind late last year. I knew it was coming; she has glaucoma, and lost sight in one of her eyes a while before. We’d been keeping the other eye alive with lots and lots of medicine, but the vet told us it was just a matter of time. So, when the morning came and I found her running around crazily all over the house, nose to the ground, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Still, I was pretty alarmed. And while I read lots on the internet about this, and even saw the articles that said not to panic, the dog will adapt, those articles were almost invariably written by the sort of hyper-caring earth-mother women who could say taking care of a limbless, eyeless, incontinent sea lion was an easy, rewarding experience anyone could do. I didn’t really buy it.

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Honestly, I don’t know much about blind dogs. I’ve read that if a dog loses their site it’s a much easier transition than for a human, due to the fact dogs are guided by their sense of smell.

For anyone trying to raise a dog that was born blind there is a website out there you may be interested in. It’s about a Chihuahua named Samson, who was born without eyes. When his family decided to adopt him they did a lot of research on blind dogs, however they found most of the sites dealt only with dogs who had lost their site.

Samson’s family decided to start a blog to document his life, and in doing so, hopefully help others dealing with the same issues. It is a place to go for encouragement, information, and to share experiences with other blind dog owners.

Difference Between Pity and Compassion

Pity: is feeling “sorry”. In the dictionary I found pity has two meanings.

1. Sympathy and sorrow aroused by the misfortune or suffering of another.

2. A matter of regret

Compassion: is feeling “love”. The dictionary defined compassion as follows:

Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

I’m learning that pity cripples the one we are trying to help, whereas compassion empowers them to overcome their trials.

When I look at Samson, I realize that pity will raise a very codependent, handicap dog; yet, compassion will raise a confident, courageous dog.

He never gives up, why should I?

He never complains, why should I complain in his place?

He does not know he is blind, why should I tell him?

To follow along with Samson stop by his site, Lessons From A Blind Dog.

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