Belle and Her Furever Home

I'm Tom Farin and the proud new papa of a wonderful Labradoodle named Belle who is already a bit of a celebrity at this site. Yes, were talking about the doodle formerly called IL-Belle at the DRC web site.

She's a celebrity because a lot of people were rooting for this blind doodle cutie to be adopted. She is everything she was described in the listing and more. She loves people. In fact when we meet an owner/dog pair at the dog park or on our walks, she greets the owner before she greets the dog. Almost everyone that meets her walks away without a clue that they just encountered a dog who cannot see. She has adapted that well.

I don't considerate her to be a handicapped dog and I don't feel sorry for her. That is just fine with her. She has one or two shortcomings relative to other dogs. But she makes it up with heart. Other than sight and because she can't see, her walk is a bit tentative. As a result, the muscles in her front legs are a bit underdeveloped. So for the last six days she has gone on a 1 1/2 hour aerobic walk. She was tuckered out after the first two or three walks, but now she still has energy when we get done.

She's smart. She's already mastered two new commands, "step up" and "step down." To be perfectly honest, I was expecting adopting a blind dog to be challenging, even though our recently departed 13 year old chocolate lab, Coco was nearly blind at the end. But Belle is making it easy. She's already mind mapped the downstairs of the house. As I indicated she is going up and down steps and climbing in and out of the car easily. I figured it would take her longer than normal to adapt to her new home due to the fact she would have all the typical issues faced by a re-homed dog, plus the fact she couldn't see her new environment. Maybe because this is the fifth new environment this doodle has had to adapt to in about 8 months, she has gotten to be pretty flexible. But she's doing beautifully in less than a week.

We feel very lucky to have found her and grateful we were selected to adopt her.

Tom

Favorite

6 members favorited this

Attachments:

BelleSitting.jpg, 121 KB
BelleDogPark.jpg, 179 KB

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laurie, Fudge, and Vern on July 27, 2014 at 6:21pm

Yes, I like this idea so much better than the dog park....a gentle soul for a play date.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by F, Calla & Luca on July 27, 2014 at 9:00am

I agree with Joanne about dog parks. I never take my two doodles anymore. Yesterday we went to a park that has a dog park. We met a number of dogs on leash, looked in at the dog park, and walked on. Walking in a park, on leash, is a good way to meet people and dogs.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on July 27, 2014 at 8:21am

I think it's also important to point out that it looks like this dog park is truly a large park, with trails you can walk, not just an oversized fenced backyard where the dogs have nothing else to do but mill around, like so many. That makes a big difference. I avoid the "backyard" kind like the plague, but the ones where you can take a long walk in the woods with your dog off-leash are wonderful.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joanne ~ Spud* on July 27, 2014 at 8:55am

Karen, thank you for explaining this type of dog park. Yes, those are a wonderful place to enjoy and walk with your dog.

All I could see was a busy, fenced park, with 10 dogs coming to greet the new dog. AHH

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joanne ~ Spud* on July 27, 2014 at 8:51am

I appreciate your listening to my concerns with an open mind. I only mean the very best.

I dont think you will need my input at all as you sound like a wonderful man and family with a great dog. Lucky YOU :)

Lucky Dog! Know though, that I am here to support you if you ever need help. Actually, your dog will let you know exactly what she needs.

I adored my blind dog. He lived to be over 14 years old and thrived with teenage boys, loving neighbors, family, and he just LOVED Life.

I think you are lucky and have many wonderful experiences to come

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Thomas, Chari, & Lady Belle on July 27, 2014 at 9:21am

Karen,

This dog park is at least 40 acres and may be as much as 80 acres. It is full of trails. The most common dog/owner activity is a long (1-3 mile) walk with the dog unleashed. When you are in the park on week days there may be 10-15 dogs in the entire park. On weekends, the number is higher. The only place dogs are 'milling around with nothing to do' is at the double-gated entrance where dog owners are unleashing and re-leashing their dogs, picking up poop bags, setting down water and treats, etc. That is where the two incidents occurred where another dog startled Belle.

If I continue to use the park, it will be on week days and I'll try to clear the entrance/exit as quickly as possible. Encounters with dogs outside the entrance are rarely more than two dogs at a time. I'd hate to give up access to that resource because it is the only place where I can let Belle roam and explore off leash. She has a small dog yard on my property (25 x 40') but there are no interesting scents to explore.

Joanne

with your experience, your input is valuable. Keep it coming. But understand that her foster got her over most of the rough spots in adapting to blindness. So I'm just picking up where her foster mom left off. She is also in the prime of her life from the standpoint of energy and enthusiasm. In my blog post, I talk about pushing her. So far that means morning walks at an aerobic pace to build up her cardiovascular capacity and her front legs. Then we occasionally allow her to stroll through the dog park at a pace of her choosing. I have what I believe are the three best books on adapting environments to blind dogs. We've done what we need to indoors. In less than a week she totally mapped our downstairs and now understands "step up" and "step down".

Is a blind dog really different than one that can see? They certainly use their senses differently. They are more easily startled. In unfamiliar environments they are tentative as they fear running into things. Do they really want different things from their lives? I guess we could debate that point. Given that she started sighted, then lost her sight, Belle might be able to offer her opinion. But she's mute on the subject. ;-)

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on July 27, 2014 at 9:34am

I thought it was that type of park; we have some here in the Northern Chicago suburbs as well, and they are the only ones we use. Once you get past the entrance, there are no issues with other dogs. They're part of the Forest Preserves. Best place in the world for a dog to get some real exercise off-leash, and for a dog owner to enjoy a nature walk. I would not deprive Belle (or yourselves) of this.