We had a little blind puppy arrive at the end of last week from the animal control shelter in Elko, Nevada. She was born with no eyes in her head. A young man found her by the side of the road and, thinking someone had injured her, took her to a vet clinic. After the vet found the puppy was blind from birth, not from abuse of some sort, the young man then took her to the shelter.
The shelter staff fell in love with this adorable little girl, but couldn't find anyone willing to adopt her. A wonderful lady in California, Dara O., volunteers long-distance for this animal control shelter, trying to find options for animals who are at risk of euthanasia. Dara contacted us last Monday about the puppy. In her email she wrote:
I have contacted several other rescue organizations and unfortunately none of them were able to help her and her time is running out.
I called Dara to say we could take the little girl. Now, normally when we agree to take an animal from an out-of-state shelter, we have to arrange the travel. Not this time. Dara handled the entire enterprise, made the reservations, paid for the airfare, and got everything squared away. All I had to do was say "yes," and that was it. (I could get used to this!) On Thursday, the shelter staff took the puppy to the tiny airport in Elko to catch a puddle-jumper flight to Salt Lake City, and from there she caught the connecting flight to Missoula. Alayne picked her up at the airport at 4:30 that afternoon.
Back at the ranch late Thursday, we let this blind puppy out of her crate ... and immediately all she wanted to do was romp and play with me. She kept jumping up on me, running little circles around my feet, then whirl around and roll over, get up, and do it all over again.
A few minutes later it dawned on me what we were going to name her: Nevada!
On Friday, Karen from the Elko shelter emailed us to say:
She left a big hole in our hearts – she is a special one. We are so grateful that you were able to accept her into your wonderful sanctuary. I know that Dara asked, but we will always love to hear about her if you can.
So, thanks to a young man who picked up the puppy and got her to safety, a shelter staff who cared about her, and a volunteer who made it all come together, baby Nevada got another chance to enjoy life.
She does have some discharge from her eyes, and she has a bit of a runny nose, so we have her on antibiotics. We'll be taking her to our vet clinic in Helena next week for exploratory surgery on her eyes and a medical exam.
Alayne and I got some video of Nevada yesterday evening. In the first clip you'll see a close-up of her ... you can see she's listening to the sounds, mostly birds, and then when she hears my voice, she zooms right towards me. In the second clip you'll see her playing with me.
(Towards the end of that clip the phone on my belt starts ringing, and I answered it after Alayne turned off the video camera. We don't have cell service out here, but we do have "industrial-strength" cordless phones that can cover up to 3,000 acres, so we can take a call wherever we are on the ranch.)
With that introduction, here's Nevada:
Hi friends
This is really a nice article. Thanks for this article.
Joseph
Posted by: Account Deleted | March 16, 2009 at 09:21 AM
Nevada is soooo cute! I love the video and how she is listening so intently. :) I am so happy that she has such a wonderful place to stay.
Posted by: Juli | May 18, 2007 at 08:35 PM
God Bless You All!!
Posted by: Patrick | May 18, 2007 at 08:21 AM
Leslie posted some great comments...thank you for sharing this. I pray that someday I will again meet with the furry,feathery,hairy friends that have been in my life. Your stories have been so heartwarming and I believe you are Angels here on earth. What wonderful work you do and I pray you will be able to continue this and that more people will donate to help in maybe the only way they can. I wish I could give more than my little donations here and there, but know whatever I can give is going to the right place.Thank you so much for your love of all the animals.
Posted by: Mikaleen Hauschildt | May 18, 2007 at 06:43 AM
I am a 60 year old man and have seen plenty in this life - both good and bad. When I saw the video of Nevada I cried. God Bless Nevada and God Bless all of you for saving her.
Posted by: Steve Davis | May 17, 2007 at 10:28 PM
I am a man 60 years old. I have seen plenty in this life - both good and bad. When I saw the video of Nevada I cried. God Bless Nevada and God Bless all of you for saving her.
Posted by: Steve Davis | May 17, 2007 at 10:24 PM
I know that you realize how wonderful the work you are doing truly is ... it is fabulous that you continue to share it so that others know as well. Your dedication to those souls who may be perceived as less fortunate is paving your way to continued success and blessings. I work at a vet clinic, and recently adopted a blind canary who was brought to us to be euthanized. His owners thought he was sick because he was not eating, and only sat at the bottom of his cage. We discovered that he was just blind, and couldn't find his food and water. "Ray," as we have named him, is such a joy for us. He has become comfortable with us, and is now healthy, joyful, appreciative of his good food and fresh greens and fruits and veggies, and has begun singing his sweet, blind little heart out after 2 weeks in our home. Just because someone has a "disability" does not mean that they do not understand joy and love and all life can offer. Maybe we should have a blind dog too ...
Thanks for all you do for the souls in the animal kingdom, and for souls like mine who love them.
Posted by: Rebecca Ramsey | May 17, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Nevada's only blind physically ~ obviously her spirit can "see" all the wonderful angels around her! Hope she lives a very long, happy life there!
Posted by: Linda | May 17, 2007 at 04:55 PM
How smart she is, nothing could stop her! She is too precious for words!
Posted by: gothamcity13 | May 17, 2007 at 02:22 PM
What a sweetheart she is! I'm so glad you were able to take her, it breaks my heart to know that these precious animals are abandoned and thrown away by people. I have a 12 yr old dog that is blind and he does very well. Bless you
Posted by: Carole | May 17, 2007 at 02:09 PM
So adorable! Our rescue recently adopted out 3 golden pups who were also born with no eyes. It's truly remarkable how well they manage without them...they don't even know that they're different or missing anything since they've never had the benefit of sight. They're just like any other puppy, as your video demonstrates.
Posted by: Kelly | May 17, 2007 at 02:04 PM
I also took in an animal with no eyes. She was a tiny jet black kitten born in the rafters of a pole barn. I heard her tiny mew, and realized she had fallen from the rafters to a cement floor, had survived somehow and was crying. I brought her right in and made her a gruel of kitten food and milk replacer, and she was a real little piggy. The next day was her first vet visit where she weighed in ounces, not even one pound. The vet was surprised that she had survived the fall, even more was eating softened solids for me. I just felt like she deserved every possible chance, since she had such a will to survive. She got a clean bill of health, later a spay and an exploratory eye surgery. After two days, she started out running the outer perimeters of the rooms next to the baseboards, before becoming mini diva of the dogs and entire house. I quickly named her Bumper. I made up a large cage to keep her safe and let her play on the sunny porch outside and be absolutely safe,and carried her in my arms for lots of walks in the sunshine, both of which mesmerized her. My little Bumpy never got more than 4 lbs, and when God took her back last year at age 2 from kidney failure, (turned out her kidneys were mal-formed) I laid her to rest feeling so incredibly blessed by the life lessons I learned from my tiny diva-with-an-attitude. Her life was only 2 years but was so wonderfully full. I so wish your ranch was closer to my Michigan home, and I plan to add the ranch to my will, because this work you do is so very important in this world. God Bless You and each animal in your care.
Posted by: Lovemycritters | May 17, 2007 at 01:01 PM
The first part of that clip just cracks me up. To see her hear your voice, pause, and then suddenly launch herself at you - I laughed out loud. I'll have to watch this on days where I'm feeling down. What a joy.
Posted by: Michelle Stacer | April 30, 2007 at 11:47 PM
I wonder if Nevada could become a blind agility dog. She listens so well and seems so perfect for any type of obedience work.
Posted by: danielle | April 17, 2007 at 01:15 PM
Nevada is precious! I'm so grateful to each person that helped her along the way to get to the marvelous RDR! She's so smart & full of joy, welcome beautiful Nevada!
Big hugs,
ginger & Tobias
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | April 16, 2007 at 10:50 PM
ohhhhh, What a sweet bundle of joy ! Wish i could ramp and play with her but.... to far away. Welcome baby Nevada.
Posted by: Karen | April 16, 2007 at 07:07 PM
She's absolutely adorable! We have an almost 7 year old mini dachshund who came to us by way of HUA in Nebraska. She was born in a puppy mill and has micro ophthalmia. Her case is severe, leaving her with essentially no eyeball. She has no clue that she is blind and neither do most people that meet her for the first time! Can't wait to follow Nevada's adventures!
Posted by: Shannon | April 16, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Welcome Nevada ! Looking forward to seeing you grow up and play with all your new friends. Steve and Alayne you are the best !!!!
Posted by: Leigh | April 16, 2007 at 04:02 PM
Little Nevada has me doing a double take... she looks EXACTLY like my Annie (nine in May) did when we got her from the animal shelter foster program in Kent, WA. She's BEAUTIFUL. And another match made in heaven. What a joy to behold, and such a credit to Dara, Karen, and everyone helping her find her way. Congratulations all!!!!
Posted by: Margaret | April 16, 2007 at 03:22 PM
You may think Nevada was listening to the sounds of nature but I see a puppy waiting to hear her humans' voice. This website is the only one that makes me smile, laugh and cry all at the same time. How great that you are doing this and how great it must be to do it. I envy you!
Posted by: Kathy Goog | April 16, 2007 at 01:23 PM
What a precious baby...certainly there were angels protecting her along the way! Welcome to the ranch, little one!
Posted by: Nina | April 16, 2007 at 01:22 PM
It is a miracle that she made it there. Not being able to see and that man finding her in the street, who know's what could have happened to her. When I see and hear thing's like this, I sigh in relief.....
Posted by: Lahna Zandi, Coral Springs, FL. | April 16, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Nevada is adorable. She is obviously a very smart puppy too. I love her. She is so lucky to have been found by caring people. She is very special.
Posted by: Mary Balsack | April 16, 2007 at 11:54 AM
What a gift Nevada is! And you and Nevada schmoozing at the end was the sweetest!
Posted by: Linda O'Neill | April 16, 2007 at 09:27 AM
May I just say... I'm in love with little Nevada. What a beautiful puppy she is. Thank you for doing what you do. Nevada is one lucky girl who will now be able to live life to the fullest.
Posted by: Jennifer | April 16, 2007 at 08:49 AM
Navada looks so happy... as do all your dogs and horses. I think that comes from having such good people to offer them unconditional love and excellent care ....not to mention the wonderful place to live. Thank you for having such a wonderful dream and having the guts to live that dream day by day.
Posted by: Mary - Texas | April 16, 2007 at 08:23 AM
Wow Lots of Babies coming to the ranch! How Lucky they are to have a life time of love and happiness!! Thanks for always keeping us updated.
Posted by: shelby | April 16, 2007 at 08:22 AM
This is a great way to start a morning off. I loved her up in your arms, kissing. One day she will be too big for that, ENJOY...
Thank you for your work.
Posted by: angie | April 16, 2007 at 07:40 AM
only one word comes to my mind and that is angel.
I'm glad she found her way home.
Thank you
Posted by: mehdi | April 16, 2007 at 01:17 AM
she's so gorgeous, thanks for sharing her!
Posted by: leslie | April 15, 2007 at 11:40 PM
Each and every animal you take in to your wonderful home represents the thousands that aren't so fortunate and I like to think they not only represent them but live their lives to the fullest in the best surroundings and loving environment not just for themselves but those who weren't so fortunate. The fact that they are also the "least likely to succeed or deemed unadoptable" because they are far from perfect makes it all the more poignant. I also have to voice and acknowledge that you two have given back some saving grace to the human race and those who would do harm to animals or be arrogant enough to think they are secondary in our world. Kudos to you...you bring sanctuary to many animals who would of been looked over or destroyed, you redeemed and put back the humane in humanity. I live vicariously through you because your lives, with all the challenges and dedication is my secret vision of heaven. Thank you for sharing and also for inspiring smaller "ranches" here and there.
Posted by: sasha | April 15, 2007 at 11:35 PM
Nevada is just beautiful; how lucky for her that she now has perfect place to grow and thrive.
Posted by: Cora | April 15, 2007 at 09:28 PM