Buddy, like Bonnie-Prince, came into rescue via the dog pound in Ireland after being found as a stray. He had an initial veterinary check where it was found that he was blind. How he had managed to survive puzzled everyone. We had offered Buddy a home before we found out about his blindness, but this did not put us off and we went to meet Buddy off the transport van at Sandbach Services at 1.30 a.m. on the 2nd April, 2012. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw … there were about 40 other dogs, all in cages, barking frantically, but Buddy was cowering in a large cage, trembling with fear, his eyes completely closed. Buddy was lifted into the back of our vehicle and promptly parked himself on my lap. He was shaking from head to foot. When we arrived home about two hours later my husband lifted him out the car and placed him gently on the front lawn where he just spun round and round in circles. I picked him up and took him into the living room, he was certainly a light-weight. Buddy had been shaved from under his chin, full length of his belly and his back legs were bald. He crawled around the living room twice, banging his head on every piece of furniture. This was the only moment we questioned whether we had really done Buddy any favours saving him from death. Not wanting to leave Buddy in a strange environment we carried him upstairs and placed him on the bed where he stood between us for two hours, offering us his paw. The next morning Buddy was very sick, throwing up thick yellow bile. A trip to the vets was organised where he was treated and weighed – he was very underweight and had been a stray for quite some time to get into this condition. The vet confirmed that Buddy was blind and had suspicions that this was caused by human cruelty. He put his age at between 10 or 11 years due his posture and the amount of missing teeth. After a few days Buddy’s stomach settled so then began the task of discovering what Buddy could and couldn’t do. We had to take a step back and watch how he coped with situations and his blindness. We were amazed at his zest for a normal life, he responded well to love and affection. Buddy’s confidence started to grow and his previous life began to fade into the background. Buddy is now a completely different dog, he is so confident that people do not believe he is blind. He is a very happy, trusting, amusing dog and loves nothing more than meeting people. His weight is back to where it should be and he enjoys every minute of every day.
Pauline Homer
SADLY NOW AT RAINBOW BRIDGE … RIP BUDDY BOY
