Kellar is a beautiful and healthy English Springer Spaniel. He is happiest when playing fetch, however he plays fetch a little differently than most dogs do. Instead of watching where the ball goes, he listens for it. You see, Kellar is completely blind and has been since birth. Blindness is all he knows, but it doesn’t slow him down! He has no problem running after the ball, thrown by his loving human who helps him find it by giving cues. If he can’t find it simply by the sound of it hitting the ground or the smell, she tells him that he is “warm” or “cold” like a familiar childhood game. As soon as he is close enough to the toy, his nose takes over and he joyously rushes it back to his owner and places it on the deck. This dog is absolutely amazing! Just watch!
I worked as a veterinary technician for over a decade and I have seen several blind dogs. Most do extremely well as long as you don’t move the furniture, since they memorize where obstacles are and learn to walk around them. But rarely do you see them this active and fast in the face of complete blindness. I think we can all look to this amazing dog as a great example! Not only an example of what we can expect from dogs with handicaps with our love, encouragement and help, but also an example for ourselves. When we are given setbacks we can make the most of them, if Kellar can make the most of his. It’s amazing to me that dogs rarely let things hold them back. They make the best of everything. And we, as their owners, should do the same!