Brady is a beautiful 8 mo old sable male. However, he is _blind_. We thought we would share some information from his foster home for those intersted in adopting Brady.
"This boy is truly amazing. I have only had him one night and already I am finding it a wonderfully rewarding experience. I have no need to worry about it being overwhelming for me to have him at my place. He is so, so special.
Brady is happy, friendly, good with other dogs, and so very sweet. Loves to cuddle and get hugs. He is a combination of curious, cautious and scared at times. He does not appear to have been abused or "damaged" in any way. He has an open, friendly confidence about him and, when all four feet are on solid ground, is not afraid to step forward to explore.
Last night: Learning moment #1- Getting out of the car. This is big and terrifying for him. Carole and Gina both tried to coax him out of the car when they saw how scared he was but he wouldn't budge. Poor baby! When I opened the back door of the Subaru, Rayne jumped down and Brady so badly wanted to follow her. He stood there whimpering and sniffing the edge. I remembered when my horse first went blind, she would be afraid to step forward if she wasn't sure what was ahead. I would take my hand and run it down her leg, lift her hoof and place her hoof down on the ground one step forward. I would do this with each leg until she realized that going forward wasn't hurting her or scaring her. Soooo... I tried this with Brady. He snugged himself up to me for a hug and I ran my hands down his legs, gently held him by the ankles and slowly lowered his front end to the ground. He was a little stressy when he was only an inch from the ground but, then his feet hit terra firma and he was so pleased with himself! I made a big happy celebration of the whole thing for him! What a good boy!
Learning moment #2: The backyard. I brought him through the side gate and around the perimeter of the yard and all the hazard areas. Poor boy won't remember most of those until he bumps them. I then let him off leash and worked on calling him to me as a vocal reference point. He did really well off leash. That nose and those big ears have certainly taken over for his eyes! He bumped into a few things but appeared to think to himself "ok, I need to remember that's there!"
Learning moment #3: The patio step at the sliding door. Another biggie just like getting out of the car! The step is about 8 inches high and is about 1.5 x 2 feet in dimension. He had no problem stepping up but, when he turned around and sensed the space around the edge he got scared. He laid down and whimpered. I did the same thing as when we were at the car. I took his paw over the edge, tapped the pavement with my hand so he could hear it, and told him "step off". He did it with my help and again was so pleased with his accomplishment. Again, tons of happy praise from me!
I then decided we had accomplished plenty of milestones for the night so I settled him in his crate and fed him dinner. He is excellent with his crate. Goes in just fine and no barking. Few baby whimpers here and there but, he was just trying to locate me I think.
Learning moment #4: This morning I was so proud of him! I took him to the sliding door and when I opened it he could feel the cool air and sense there was an opening but it scared him. He laid down and did his whimper thing. I went out through the door, called him to the edge, tapped the step and told him "step off". The amazing boy slid his paw forward over the edge, felt the step and stepped out onto it! WOW!!!!! How is that for a smart guy? He remembered that after two lessons! I am really pleased with him. He is going to do very well. I think he is going to get familiar with my house and where everything is located very quickly. I will focus on teaching him "step off", "step up", and "come" for now. He needs those. I emphasize the "off" and "up" in the step words so he realized the difference.
I don't think we need to worry about how hard it will be on him to transition into his forever home after being at my house. I think he will gain confidence at my place and learn his command words. Those things will help him to settle more easily into his new home when the time arrives.



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