The Blind Labrador That Could See

blind dog,

We all know that Labrador Retrievers are very smart dogs. They swim, hunt, and they are rather gentle giants.

Someone once told me about her black Lab, Bo. He was her childhood dog and her memories of him are quite clear, even 30 years later when she talks of him quite fondly.

Here is her story:

Her parents married in 1973 and they were in search of a dog. What they received was a two-year-old Labrador in need of a home. He was gentle with an occasional bout of playfulness that would knock a grown man onto his rear. Bo was a happy dog living on a farm that gave him plenty of room to run and hunt. During the day he would roam the property, but during the night he would curl up in the living room and sleep the entire night. When he got up in the mornings and was ready to go back out, he would paw the door and make a sound that sounded similar to the word “out.”

He was a great companion and an excellent rabbit hunter. However, his role as a family dog would change in 1980 at the age of 9 because a new baby had arrived.

By this time, Bo was blind from arsenic treatments for heartworms. The rest of the family who lived on the farm was concerned about how Bo would act with the baby, especially since he couldn’t see her.

The day the baby was brought home from the hospital, Bo was in the car with the family. He smelled the baby and it was as if he automatically knew that she was his.

The baby then grew into a toddler who wanted to ride Bo like a horse, but he didn’t care. He let her do as she pleased. She would also lay her head on him and he would not move a muscle while she napped. Although the family continued to doubt his continued gentleness with her as she grew and he neared 15 years old, she was his best friend and he was hers.

So one night when the little girl was six and her little brother was just a baby, Bo went to the door and said he wanted “out.” Her mom followed him outside and he went toward his pen where his doghouse was. That is where he wanted to go. The next morning, Bo didn’t come out of the doghouse and the little girl noticed this and told her mom that he wasn’t out in the pen like usual.

Her mom walked outside, looked in the doghouse, and turned away crying. The little girl automatically knew that Bo was no longer with them. He obviously knew he was going to go because he oddly wanted out the night before. He didn’t want to cross the rainbow bridge while in the house.

Bo left behind a heartbroken family, but very fond memories. That little girl who used Bo as a pillow and tried to ride him like a horse is now 35 years old. She has a photo of him that was taken in 1981 that her children love to look at. When they see his photo, they know the story of Bo and what a great dog he was.

This story shows how our pets can stay in our hearts even after they are gone and that pets can create a legacy. Bo, born nearly 45 years ago and gone for almost 30, continues to come up in conversation when talking about “smart dogs” and how even a blind dog knows perfectly well what is happening around him or her and can have a high quality life.