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(I've already posted an email from Toronto Animal Services West about Daisy and Rudy, two Cocker Spaniels, but I wanted to go visit them myself ...)

Where the eyes should be black, they are white and the white stops the subtleties of light from passing through clearly so Daisy sees only a hint of things, grey shadows or maybe not even that, maybe only big splotches of light and dark.

She bumps into things a lot. In the outdoor dog run, she bounces off the fence, bounces off the dog house, bounces off my leg, bounces off Rudy her companion.

Despite the darkness Daisy lives in, she is a bright dog. Her tail is always wagging and she is always exploring. She perceives her world, though it is misty and undefined, as a wonderful world. There is much to discover, much to be happy about. The other dogs sense this in her. The other dogs, even the dogs who don't like dogs, seem to like her or at least tolerate her.



Rudy is Daisy's partner in life. He sees everything and sees enough to be Daisy's lookout, guide and patient companion and maybe that's why he has a more sorrowful look on his face, a more melancholic demeanor. He sees and senses the fragility of their situation.

I'm told Rudy has a strong heart murmur. Despite that, he's come through a general anesthetic with no worries and the murmur is not noticeably affecting his health at the moment, at least not in any way we can measure. The vet hasn't recommended any medication for him for the time being but that may change in the future.



When Daisy and Rudy arrived they were matted, infested with fleas, had rotten teeth. They weren't abused but they were neglected. They were both delivered from the hands of a backyard breeder along with another male Cocker Spaniel. Same story you've all heard many times before. Same story I'm sure you'll hear many times again until we get these puppy profiteers under control.

Daisy and Rudy are both very pleasant dogs, both very well house trained and quiet. Rudy is nine and Daisy is six and Daisy has probably never known a life without Rudy.

These two belong in a home together so let's see if we can do that for them.




In the video, Daisy stands in front of my leg for a moment. She can sense something in front of her but isn't sure what it is. Then, she leans forward and sniffs and when she realizes it's me, she clambers up my leg in case I have a doggie treat to give her, which I do. Yes, I'm reinforcing her jumping up on people. That's one of the prerogatives of being a blind dog. They get to jump up on people and wait for treats.



Daisy and Rudy are at Toronto Animal Services WEST. If you are interested in more information about adopting them, visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call (416) 338-6271 for the Toronto Animal Services West shelter. If they are no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because they've been adopted already.



4 Comments to “Visiting Daisy and Rudy - Cocker Spaniels”

  1. Anonymous says:

    I wanted to say this here because a lot of people read your blog, and may not know this: heart murmurs in dogs are often successfully controlled with the supplement CoQ10. I give my 30 lb dog 120 mg a day (divided into 2 daily does with his food). I use a human version, available at any health food store, and his murmur has almost disappeared (his new vet couldn't detect it, not knowing his history initially).

  2. Anonymous says:

    If that description of the darlings doesn't find them a caring home together Fred I don't know what could! I wish I could take them. Thank you for trying so well for them.

  3. Unknown says:

    Pet Adopting a pet is a very special step, like bringing a new member of the family into our home. Adoption of Homeless Animals.
    Pet Adopting Delhi

  4. Anonymous says:

    I'd like to bring these two home as soon as my work schedule changes. Such sweeties. I hope they get to stay together.

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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