Blind Dog

Shadow, my blind dog, died on May 18, 2016.  She was 14 years and 4 months old.  She was blind for about the last 7 years of her life.  She was bred by Susan Stills in Howell Michigan who breeds for conformation.  I really didn’t understand the significance of this until later.  I wanted a Springer to do agility with me.  Shadow was about 3 months old when we got her.  I did obedience training with her and trained her in agility.  We competed and Shadow did well, but was never really fast. She had several C atch titles from CPE and had her Master titles from AKC.  I am sure that going blind slowed her down.  When I discovered that Shadow had progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), I contacted Susan Stills because I thought she would want to know.  PRA is genetic.  Susan already knew and for whatever reason choose not to tell me.  I discovered it because I was seeing issues on the agility course.  My Vet thought she had cataracts, so referred me to a specialist hoping that Shadow could have surgery to remove them.  Shadow did have cataracts, but removing them wouldn’t help her vision since her retinal was dying. PRA can’t be stopped, but it can be slowed down through vitamins and minerals.  It is the same as macular degeneration in humans.  Since I didn’t discover the issue until Shadow was almost blind, the vitamins and minerals I gave her had minimal effect.  Maybe I extended her vision by 6 months.  I would have liked to have given her more months or years of partial vision. It was heart breaking to me.

I did tracking training with Shadow, hoping it would help in her ability to get around. It probably did. I can remember walking Shadow after I thought she was totally blind and she would stop and look up at the sun.  I realized that she could still see a little light. It always hurt my heart.  She did adjust well, but it did change our relationship. 

About 5 years ago, she began to have some problems walking.  These problems got progressively worse as she aged.  The last few years, she walked slowly and sort of dragged her rear legs.  My tracking buddy reminded me that I stopped tracking with Shadow due to her difficulties with walking.  The last year was the hardest with her being carried a lot.

Since her death and time to mourn, I am now remembering her when she was younger and such a sweet dog.  I have a lot of wonderful memories.  She got along well with people and was okay with dogs.  She and another dog, Kinsey, would get into fights ever so often, which was a challenge.  It didn’t happen often, but was awful when it did occur.

So, my sweet girl on the opening page on this blog is no more.  I have one more blog to write and then I won’t be doing any more.