So I Did Everything Wrong

The Milo Foundation, where I adopted Jack, sent me a book; How To Live With A Blind Dog. Gotta love those guys! Anyway, I read about halfway through it yesterday. It is a good thing Jack is Jack. I knew the only dog I would have is an Australian Shepherd.

In my defense, the book is meant for wide application. Dogs born blind, blind in old age, or like Jack, blinded far before what seems like their time. Dogs completely blind and dogs with limited vision. Smart dogs like Jack and his breed, or the far more common dumb dogs. Yes, I am a breed snob.

Had I read the book ahead of time I would have known I was supposed to introduce Jack to one room at a time, only moving on when he had navigated about and gotten the lay of it. I live in a trailer and spend a lot of my time in two other houses. Jack explored them all, and their yards, pretty much on his own, within the first hour when we got home, and committed all the obstacles to memory. Watching him on his own turf you would think he was a sighted dog with an annoying habit of bowling over the light plastic patio chairs that occassionally move into his path.

It's a good thing he can't read. I read a lot of it out loud to him, but I left that part out.