Although a 13-year-old dog named Cesar who lives in Pasadena, Calif., is blind, he managed to find an opening in his backyard fence last night and escaped from the yard. Unfortunately, he wandered onto the construction site next door — and plunged 15 feet down a hole.
Cesar’s owner, Mary, knew something was wrong when her other dog started barking frantically. When Cesar barked back, Mary realized he wasn’t in the backyard. She found him down in the hole, which was only about 3 feet wide, and alerted the construction foreman. They notified the Pasadena Fire Department, and a search-and-rescue team arrived within 10 minutes. Rescue personnel from four other nearby cities also came to help.
Getting Cesar out of the deep and narrow hole was no easy task. “This is a construction zone,” Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “Confined space rescues are low-frequency, high-risk. There are a lot of steps we need to do to make it as safe as possible, for not just the dog but also our rescuers.”
The rescue effort was captured on video. Using ropes and pulleys, one of the rescuers was lowered into the hole. He attached a harness to Cesar and, about 13 minutes after the rescue effort began, they both emerged. Although Cesar cried while he was stuck in the hole, it’s pretty amazing that he wasn’t seriously injured.
The rescuers posed for a photo with Cesar. Saving the lives of pets “always makes us feel good,” Augustin told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “At the end of the day, all of us are pet lovers. I have a dog of my own. We want to make sure we take care of not just our residents, but also our furry friends.” Sweet!
Cesar “is an old dog,” Mary, who didn’t want to give her last name, told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “But he’s still very curious and adventurous.” Hopefully after this misadventure, Cesar will stick to wandering only around his own yard.
Last night our personnel performed a Technical Rescue of a blind canine who fell approximately 15-feet into a hole at a construction site. The canine was extricated in roughly 13 minutes and uninjured. Special thanks to Arcadia, South Pasadena and Glendale Fire who assisted. pic.twitter.com/Jrg6MHaoKa
Because he had an eye infection, the owners of a 3-year-old Lab/Shepherd mix named Louis decided to have both of his eyes removed. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, last year Louis was hit by a car and suffered a broken leg that was never treated.
But Louis’ sad story doesn’t end there. His owners could no longer care for him, so in December they surrendered their sweet and shy dog to an animal shelter. A rescue group saved Louis and brought him to the Helen Woodward Animal Center (HWAC) near San Diego. HWAC is a nonprofit founded in 1972 that provides humane care and adoption for homeless animals, and also offers educational and therapeutic programs for people.
Louis’ case was unlike any other seen at HWAC in nearly 50 years, the center stated on Jan. 11.
“It is incredibly important that people who consider getting a pet know the obligations they take on with these animals,” HWAC Adoptions Director Hella Tyler said. “When people get their pets for free off of Craiglist, they don’t seem to realize that pets come with responsibilities and a monthly expense for their caretaking, including medical care. In turn, these pets will provide their owners an unparalleled love. They pay it back tenfold. It’s just devastating to see an animal treated the way Louis was treated.”
Louis is extraordinary, Tyler said. “He really suffered at the hands of his former owners but he shows no malice towards humankind. He is ready to love the perfect family and he certainly deserves one.”
Before you reach for another tissue, let’s fast forward to this week — and this dog with the tragic past can now be called Lucky Louis.
After receiving dozens of applications and over $25,000 in donations from around the world to help pay for Louis’ care, HWAC has selected the perfect forever home for this special dog.
Louis’ new dog dad is Steve Walker, a veteran Marine who competes in Iron Man competitions as well as triathlons and marathons. Walker has something in common with Louie: He began losing his vision when he was only 18, due to the rare eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa.
“We were laughing as we were reading on the internet on how to help out a blind dog, and it was pretty much the same thing as for a blind person,” Walker told KGTV.
His Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife, Kacey, and daughter, Jordan, is already set up for someone without sight. It is one-story and has pocket doors instead of swinging doors, among other special features. Louie shouldn’t have much difficulty at all settling in with his new forever family.
“I think he’s going to pick up on that and I think he’s going to benefit from a lot of the changes we’ve already made to the house,” Walker told KGTV. “So we’re really excited about seeing him adapt to our home and our family, and seeing him flourish, really.”
Smiley, a 16-year-old Golden Retriever who spent most of his life inspiring people with special needs, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.
“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” his dog mom, Joanne George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, told CBS News two years ago. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”
The particular dog George she was referring to was Smiley, who spent the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.
George rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old. “He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”
Although Smiley initially cowered at the sound of George’s other dog, a partially deaf Great Dane named Tyler, the two became best friends as Tyler helped bring Smiley out of his shell. “Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”
As Smiley blossomed, George noticed the positive effect he had on people who were naturally drawn to and inspired by her special dog. “I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.
Smiley and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helped children with special needs learn to read through a library literacy program, and also comforted people at funeral homes and nursing homes.
Until Smiley came along, the employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion.
“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”
Smiley touched hearts around the world when he became a social media sensation, with nearly half a million followers on Facebook and Instagram.
In July, veterinarians found tumors on Smiley’s liver and stomach. As his health quickly deteriorated, George made the difficult decision to end his suffering. “It’s the only way we can repay him for all he’s done,” she wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page yesterday. “He’s had enough.”
Farewell, sweet Smiley. All around the world, many of us are shedding tears for a dog we never had the privilege to meet. My heart goes out to George and her family. How lucky Smiley was to have such a loving and devoted dog mom.
“Please, in honor of Smiley — see the world around you with your ❤️, be kind to others and give back in any way you can,” George wrote on Smiley’s Facebook page today in her announcement of her beloved dog’s death.
APRIL 27, 2016 UPDATE: After enjoying several months getting plenty of love in her forever home, Poly passed away tonight.
“She had a good day,” wrote Poly’s “ghostwriter” on her Facebook page. “She had a photo shoot in her new dress and got to spend lots of time getting loved on by Vanessa. … At 10 p.m. she was settling into her fluffy blanket when she had a sudden major heart episode. She stopped breathing… and although we administered CPR for more than 20 minutes, she did not recover.
“She was surrounded by her rescue ladies when she passed… we are very thankful that we were both there.”
Rest in peace, sweet Poly, and much gratitude to those rescue ladies who made the past six months so wonderful for this special girl.
To help other other injured, abused and neglected dogs find loving homes just as Poly did, you can make a donation in her memory to Polysfund.org.
It’s bad enough abandoning a dog in a park, but it’s even more despicable when that dog is blind.
That’s what happened in October to a sweet, 3-year-old Pit Bull mama who had recently had puppies. She was left, wearing a harness, on a bench in a Santa Maria, Calif., park.
A good Samaritan notified the police. The dog, who’d been too terrified to move, was taken to Santa Barbara County Animal Services.
When Jennifer Wales, president and founder of Foreverhome Pet Rescue, saw the Pit Bull’s photo on the shelter’s Facebook page, she immediately got on the phone.
“They told me they needed a rescue commitment,” Wales told ABC News Oct. 30. “I’ve been rescuing dogs for 25 years. She reminded me so much of another dog that changed my life, who was also a blind Pit Bull.”
Wales took the dog, whom she named Poly, and had her checked out by a veterinarian. The diagnosis was not good. In addition to being permanently blind from birth, Poly had congenital heart disease, as well as ringworm and a skin condition resulting in scabs.
Because of Poly’s congenital heart condition, Wales told the Santa Maria Sun in November that anyone who obtained a Pit Bull puppy in the Santa Maria area in the late summer or early fall should have the pup’s heart checked. If the disease is detected within the first few months of a dog’s life, it can be reversible.
Unfortunately, that was not the case for Poly.
To raise money for heart surgery, Wales launched the Poly the Blind Pibble crowdfunding campaign. Her goal of $3,000 was quickly met. The rest of the donations, via the new Poly’s Fund, will be “distributed to small nonprofits that have dogs that need expensive diagnostics with specialists,” Wales told ABC News.
Poly has been placed in a foster home, where she is “thriving,” Wales told ABC News in October. “She’s so sweet and loving.”
Although Poly will never again have to go through the unimaginable terror of being left alone in a strange place, her days in a loving forever home may be numbered.
Wales told ABC News Dec. 3 that due to Poly’s heart condition, her life expectancy is only two months to two years.
Those precious days will be filled with pampering from her foster family.
“Her activities are limited, but there’s lots of loving and hugging and petting,” Wales said.
Poly is also getting used to car rides and socializing with people. “Since she is nervous around new voices, we are trying to at least briefly expose her to more and more people so she can learn to trust again,” Wales told ABC News.
“She is playful and bouncy, not so much with toys as with people. But she can’t get too riled up for more than a couple of minutes or she will start coughing and faint due to her condition.”
You can keep up with Poly’s adventures on her Facebook page, Poly – Blind Pibble.
“I have SO MUCH to be thanking for this year!” Poly “wrote” on Thanksgiving Day. “Fluffy beds, cheeses, rescue ladies, trips to the park, warm sweaters and jackets, lots of new friends, nice heart doctors and eye doctors.”
Here’s hoping this beautiful girl proves her prognosis wrong and goes on to enjoy being loved for many years to come.
“Dogs can come back from anything. They forget their past,” Joanne George, dog mom to a 12-year-old Golden Retriever named Smiley, told CBS News. “We as humans, dwell on the past.”
The past that Smiley bounced back from included spending the first couple years of his life in a puppy mill. If that alone wasn’t bad enough, Smiley was born with dwarfism — and without eyes.
George, a dog trainer who lives in Stouffville, Canada, rescued Smiley when he was 2 years old.
“He was very scared,” she told ABC News. “[The dogs] had never been out of that barn.”
Smiley was very anxious about living in a home, George wrote on her Training the K9 Way website. “He cowered at the sound of another dog eating. The scars on his face and ears told me the stories of what it was like living with so many dogs in such deplorable conditions.”
Smiley soon bonded with George’s other dog, Tyler, a partially deaf Great Dane.
“Tyler was so bouncy and crazy and happy-go-lucky, and [Smiley] turned into the same dog,” George told ABC News. “He came out from underneath the tables where he was always hiding.”
As Smiley blossomed, George said she noticed the positive effect he had on people.
“People were so drawn to him, so inspired by him. I realized this dog has to be a therapy dog — I have to share him,” she told CBS News.
Smiley did just that. He and George joined the St. John Ambulance therapy dog program in Ontario. Smiley helps special-needs children learn to read through a library literacy program, and also works at funeral homes and nursing homes.
The employees of one nursing home had never seen a mute patient named Teddy express any emotion, until Smiley came along.
“One day, Smiley put his feet up in front of [Teddy], and he started smiling and making noise,” George told CBS News. “All of the nurses rushed into the room and said they’ve never seen him smile — never seen any kind of reaction.”
Teddy is now the first patient Smiley visits whenever he goes to that nursing home.
“I think that’s when I realized how truly inspiring he can be,” George told CBS News.
Her advice for pet parents of blind dogs: “Don’t be his eyes, don’t run his life, don’t keep him in a bubble.”
Smiley is able to get around without much difficulty, George told ABC News. He raises his feet as he walks.
“He’s feeling with his feet,” she explained. “Does he bump into things? Of course he does. But he does it very carefully.”
(Silvie Bordeaux, dog mom of Muffin, a blind Toy Poodle, invented the ingenious Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs, which provides padding and prevents dogs from bumping into things or falling down stairs, as Muffin once did.)
Smiley is now 12 years old and starting to slow down, but, George told CBS News, his “tail will never stop wagging.”
“The quote, ‘The dogs we really need are the ones that come to us,’ is very true in this case,” George told Head-Lites. “I am a better human being and mother because of him.”
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish.Got it!RejectPrivacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
