Blind Dog ready to retrieve


Posted by NDCheryl on Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:18 am

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Let me introduce you to Seeker. A friend of mine raises leader dog puppies and Seeker was her pup several years ago. She was to have him for a year prior to his going to Rochester, MI for Leader Dog training. Unfortunately, Seeker and the rest of his litter developed cataracts and glaucoma and were all blind before they were a year old. My friend kept Seeker as a pet and he now has prosthetic eyes (no vision).

Several weeks ago we took my friends dogs out to a pond so I could take shots from my float in the water. While I enjoyed photographing the other dogs getting 'air', I really liked watching Seeker. My friend had a Kong (water toy the dogs retrieve) and she would say to Seeker "listen". this picture is what he would do when she said that. The she would throw the toy out quite far in the water and after he heard it splash he was headed right to it. He was very consistent in swimming right to it and bringing it back to her.

Canon EOS3 with 70-200IS, Sensia 100 pushed to 200 (not enough light for jumping dogs), handheld from float in pond.
Cheryl Ertelt
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by Dennis Olivero on Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:29 am
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There is alot about life to be learned from dogs...
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by Jenny Ellerbe on Fri Sep 19, 2003 10:39 am
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Cheryl, I love dogs and this image and this story are making me teary this morning. I am so glad Seeker has such a good owner and a good life.

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by Harvey Edelman on Fri Sep 19, 2003 1:15 pm
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I like every dog on the planet :D . I'm sure Seeker is happy and leads a noemal life. Years ago when I had horses I used to ride with a lady who rode a blind horse and that was amazing.
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by Steve Mason on Fri Sep 19, 2003 2:09 pm
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It's heartwrming to hear that Seeker is living a full life.
I've encountered a couple of blind dogs over the years, and it always amazes me how agile they can be despite the lack of vision.

As for the photo, what a great expression you captured!
Great light too.
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by Lillian Roberts on Fri Sep 19, 2003 5:07 pm
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What an amazing story! Very sorry to hear about the eye disease, especially that a whole litter was affected! I assume the parents have been neutered and removed from the gene pool!
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by Steve Sage on Fri Sep 19, 2003 8:15 pm
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This is a great portrait and story Cheryl. I recognize that expression of a totally blind dog. It is good his hearing is good and the nose knows more than we know. It looks like he has a great life in spite of his handicap.
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by E.J. Peiker on Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:15 am
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This is an "Awe how cute" shot :)
 

by Geo on Sat Sep 20, 2003 5:35 am
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..


Last edited by Geo on Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
 

by Alan Melle on Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:31 pm
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Nice picture and wonderful story!
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by Ken Cravillion on Sat Sep 20, 2003 2:20 pm
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Alan Melle wrote:Nice picture and wonderful story!
Ditto! He looks happy... :)
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by Rich S on Sat Sep 20, 2003 7:20 pm
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Great story and great shot. Love the way the dog catches the light here. I'm with SWMBO (ROFL!) that the pose doesn't look quite natural, but I find the adaptation of the dog absolutely incredible and the different pose presumably reflects the adaptation.

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by thapamd on Sun Sep 21, 2003 11:19 am
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This is one of those shot you have to say, "ahhhhhhh...how adorable" every time you see it :) Great shot!
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by Paul Skoczylas on Mon Sep 22, 2003 10:59 am
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Excellent shot!

They say that when you lose one sense the others become more sensitive. Considering that some dogs can find drowned bodies ten feet underwater by smell, or even smell out some kinds of cancer before modern medicine can find them, I wouldn't be surprised if that dog could smell the Kong all the way in.

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by Bill Whala on Wed Sep 24, 2003 2:19 pm
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Cheryl,

This is a beautiful photo of Seeker. Your story had me choked up while I read it. What an amazing adaptation. :)
Bill Whala

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