My husband and I decided to adopt a dog through a rescue. There were several things we were looking for in a dog. I preferred a female. NOT a puppy. Very calm ( our dalmation mix is very old and afraid of hyper dogs). A small dog that gets along with other dogs and cats (we have two very large, older cats). Well, that pretty well ruled out every dog in Nebraska!
We were going to Illinois for a family reunion soon so I decided to look at rescues there. Wasn’t online long before I found and fell in love with Sameen. She is a 7 year old Lhasa apso mix. She is so sweet and loving!! Our older dog and 2 cats love her.
There are several things I need to learn about living with a blind dog. She suffers horrible separation anxiety. If she doesn’t know where I am, she cries and howls- it’s heartbreaking! Sometimes it seems that she must be able to see shapes or shadows, but he previous vet was sure she is totally blind.
My dog is a Minature Schnauzer that went blind about 4 months ago. She too get separation anxiety but not quite as bad as your Sameen. She gets very nervous in the car not knowing where she is going even with me holding her. I had read about the Thunder Shirt and thought I would give it a try. They aren’t cheap as they cost about $39,00. I got mine at Petco but Pet Smart has them too. You can order on Amazon too but I didn’t want to wait that long. I got one and put it on her and immediately could tell it made her more calm. They are used for thunder storms and anything that might make the dog nervous. It used pressure points. I haven’t tried it in the car yet but I am sure it will be better for longer car rides.
I give you a lot of credit for taking on a rescue that is blind. It definitely is a learning experience but it is amazing how they adapt. Besides that they still have a lot of love to give you. My dog is 13 yrs old but she is in very good health. The opthomogist had mentioned putting her down but I would never think of doing that just because she is blind.
Good luck to you.