I don’t normally foster… I get too attached too easily… And I only have a certain amount of space and “me” to go around… But with Rogaine’s passing this past week, I couldn’t say no when the topic came up to foster this little pupper for awhile… Especially under the circumstances…

But I have to admit that I needed to 'mull it over inside my head' for quite some time, afraid I'd screw it up somehow or wouldn't know how to do the right thing... So yesterday when the last of the kennels were packed up and the B.A.R.K. rescue dogs were loaded into Jane’s vehicle, I and this new little guy headed home…

His name is “Wonder” but I’ve begun to call him “Wanderer, the Wonder Dog” – I guess because the three of us tend to have 3 syllable names for our puppers (other than Rogaine) or we add to it by repeating it… Like we say “Ri-ley, R-I-ley” when we call him…

I can’t ‘officially’ change Wonder’s name, but Wanderer’s close enough for me for a nickname… Because he does indeed ‘wander’…

He’s totally blind… Hard to tell it when you see him, huh?... Jane told me her vet said he lacks the blood vessels that go to the retinas for them to work and allow him to see… Was probably either born like that and it was congenital - or he became that way shortly after birth… Once you know, you do notice the way he 'tunes into you' with his ears, steps lightly almost like one of those prancing Lipitzon Stallions with his front feet - or certain ways the light (or a camera flash) hits his eyes...

When Jane asked me to walk him the first time, I guess I stood there looking stupid and asked her, “How do you walk a blind dog?”…

“Just like you do any other dog… just carry him out into the grass and he’ll know what to do… he just can’t see, but other than that, he’s like every other dog.” 

When I picked him up, I could feel every rib in his rib cage and his spinal column all the way down… He's thin... Very thin and his coat is a mess, but Jane's a very special rescue person - not many would step forward and rescue such a special guy...

So he’s here with me for a few weeks to get fattened up as she tries to find a forever home for him… He’s some kind of a terrier mix, but when you rescue from a shelter, there's just no telling what kind of breed or even why a dog was dumped at a shelter or on the streets…

I’ve never had or been around a blind dog before… I wasn’t even sure how my crew would accept him…

But I get the feeling they know somehow he can’t see… The only one who’s given him a hard time (and even then, not up to her usual hard times) is Peanut…

It took him about an hour to ‘wander around’ (hence the nickname I gave him)… Bumping gently into things as he went, like he was memorizing everything… He listens intently to all the sounds going on around him and seems to use his tail as an extra guiding tool like cats do their whiskers…

I noticed last night outside he’ll find the point where the house makes its “L” and then he’ll follow the side of the house to the back door, take two steps to the left and he knows that’s where the patio door is…

Once inside, he seemed to trace the perimeter of the family room over and over again like he was memorizing every detail, and then moved onto the kitchen… Then the living room… Eventually he worked his way down the hallway and when he discovered Desiree’s door opened, it was apparent he’d ‘found her!’ by the tail wagging going on… All three of us have received puppy kisses already so I guess we pass muster (smile)…

Wanderer ‘tuned into’ the click-click-click of my nails on the keyboard last night and then settled into one of the dog beds on either side of my computer area… The hardest thing (I believe) we’ll go through with him during this foster period is to not move things around on him…  Here's a cute picture of him with his tiny tongue sticking out at ya!

And when you talk to him?... He gives you this 'look' like he's hanging onto every word you are saying... I mean, in your head you know he is blind, but when you're watching him or around him, it's just not that easy to tell...

I wasn’t quite sure where I’d put him to sleep last night, but Paul suggested I put a dog pillow back by the side of my bed… And let him sleep there where Rogaine used to… We did that and he settled in nicely after he did an ‘around the room, here’s the hallway, I know where I am’ recognizance patrol…

Somehow – and I had nothing to do with it – Wanderer ended up sleeping between Paul and I last night… Peanut was in her usual spot under the covers by my belly, BooBooDog was at our feet in the middle and Wanderer managed to make it through the entire night with Paul’s snoring…

A few times I opened my eyes and glanced over to see what was going on when Paul shifted as he does (about once every 20 minutes or so)… Wanderer would perk up his ears, ‘radar’ into the snoring sounds, move slightly towards my side of the bed until Paul was done moving, then move back to where his back was against Paul’s back again… And that’s how he spent his first night with us last night, sleeping aside of Paul’s back, in our bed… I think we’ve already taught him a bad habit… <EG>… But I take no responsibility for it ‘cause I didn’t teach it to him, but Paul did…

This morning – as is my norm – I was up around 4AM and picked him up, then gathered the rest of the crew to go potty… They all went out and did their business, and he was waiting there by the patio door with the rest of the crew when I came back to check on them…  Got a drink of water as I went around the house doing my normal morning routine and when I turned on my computer, I did my own recognizance patrol to find Wanderer…

I guess he couldn’t figure out how to get back up on the bed and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know how to climb steps… So I can only assume he tuned into Paul’s snoring and followed the sound back to the bedroom again… And curled up on the dog pillow on my side of the bed… Close enough to that deep snoring sound, I guess… At least it finally had some value instead of just keeping me awake half the night… (smile)…

As Always,
The Lady

And here's some more photos of Wanderer, the Wonder Dog....

On recognizance patrol: