New Page 1

Tyler

8-9 years old, 95 lbs., blonde, male

♥SPECIAL NEEDS♥

Tyler is named for the wonderful teenaged Good Samaritan that found him near death at the bottom of a drainage ditch. We will never know for sure but it appears he may have been ‘dumped’ by his owners since older, neutered, visually impaired dogs with marginal hips rarely voluntarily head off for greener pastures. Thinking that he was badly hurt, the young man carried Tyler's hefty 95 pound body up from the ditch all by himself. He then placed Tyler in a wagon and hauled him home where he and his parents located a GRRCC volunteer and contacted us for help. We didn’t know if there was anything wrong with Tyler that had caused him to end up at the bottom of the ravine and we suspected he may have been hit by a car and thrown there since he could barely stand. We immediately took him to our vet and, although they found evidence of arthritis, fortunately there was nothing else internally wrong with him and they guesstimated his age at between 8 and 9 years old. After getting a prescription for some pain meds and a quick bath, he was soon on his way to his foster home.

After just a couple of days and with lots of TLC and some anti-inflammatory medication, Tyler soon began showing his true Golden heart. His foster Mom completely fell in love with him when he slowly climbed onto the couch next to her one day, heaved a deep sigh, and laid his head in her lap. His foster Dad also fell for Tyler’s charms and soon found two Golden tummies waiting to be rubbed when he got home each day.

Now, we would all agree that Tyler had gone through enough in his life, but his Foster Mom sensed that there was yet another problem – Tyler was bumping into things–and she soon suspected that he had a vision problem. A trip to the veterinary ophthalmologist confirmed her fears; Tyler has Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). This is a totally hereditary condition for which there is no treatment and, although fortunately completely painless to the dog, will ultimately result in complete blindness. The veterinary ophthalmologist couldn’t determine if Tyler is completely blind yet but, if he isn’t, he will be at some point in the near future. Since PRA comes on slowly, Tyler is very well adjusted to not being able to see. He doesn't "act" blind at all and is not nervous or stressed as frequently happens when dogs are blinded suddenly due to an accident or other trauma. You might think it was all over for Tyler, but you’d be wrong. For a dog, sight is only the third sense, not the first, as for you and me….as anyone can attest who has seen a dog unerringly retrieve a ball in the dead of night!! Tyler is a typical Golden and doesn’t know he has a disability. His foster Dad has lovingly nicknamed him "Magoo". With some extra care, he He quickly learned his way around his foster home, enjoys sitting in the sun on the deck, and loves going on mile+ walks each day, and is always up for a sparring session with his Golden foster sister Jessie.….a completely typical Golden retriever in all the important ways! He is so unconcerned by his lack of sight that he actually pulls a bit on the leash when setting out on his walks rather that lying back and being hesitant as you might suspect would be the case.

His originally shaggy coat is beginning to shine and he is in the process of shedding the 10-15 lbs we will need to lose to be at a good weight and not add any additional strain to his hips. Tyler is completely housebroken, and knows "sit", "down" and several other commands and is a perfect gentleman in the car and while being groomed. His foster Mom is teaching him some special commands to help him compensate for his lack of sight…such as a verbal command to indicate to him that the terrain or elevation will be changing (for example, as he approaches stairs). His big brown eyes give no hint that he can’t see you and his tail wags constantly. Tyler has a great personality…..he is pretty mellow (appropriate for his age), and loves attention. It is remarkable to see this dog walking around with little discomfort, as less than 2 weeks ago he could hardly stand. His anti-inflammatory dosage is being decreased and he has been started on Cosequin (the miracle drug of joint supplements) which he will need to remain on for the rest of his life.

Tyler will need a Forever Home with a minimal amount of stairs and one without small children. He would also like a home without a Mom or Dad that has a compulsion to re-arrange the furniture with great regularity! He would also probably appreciate a laid back canine buddy who would be kind to him and give him companionship. Blind dogs make an incredibly easy adjustment to their disability with some easy training tips and just some minor concessions on the part of their family. As you can see from Tyler’s pictures, he has a distinct white spot on the top of his head. We decided this is a kiss from his Guardian Angel. You might say, Tyler is blind at a young age, what makes you think he has a Guardian Angel? Well, we know he has an Angel, and a very busy one at that … It was his Guardian Angel that let him move left and slide into a ditch unharmed rather than turn right into the street and be struck by a car he couldn’t see. It was his Guardian Angel that led the right young man to him; one that went above and beyond to help him rather than do the easy thing which would have been to turn and look the other way. It was his Guardian Angel that let this young man’s family care enough to locate GRRCC, knowing that surrendering him to Animal Control in their rural county would have meant virtually immediate euthanization in a gas chamber. It was his Guardian Angel that allowed a foster home to be available on a busy weekend and willing to take him in sight unseen, within mere hours of our Intake Coordinator’s calls for help. His Angel’s kiss is a reminder to us all of what an incredibly special and lucky dog Tyler is, despite the poor deck of cards he has been dealt. We know his Guardian Angel is still looking out for him and will be helping us find Tyler’s Forever Home…one that will see him not as special needs dog, but one that is simply Special. A family that is happy to make the minor changes he will appreciate in return for receiving unconditional and uninhibited love, endless tail wags and a million toothy grins. Tyler may not be able to see his Forever Family’s faces but he will surely see the quality of their hearts with 20/20 clarity.

FOSTER UPDATE - 3/10/2008

New pictures too!

Tyler continues to be a complete and total joy to have and be around. He now happily goes for 3 miles walks with his foster dad and is beggin’ for more. He loves hanging out with his canine foster sister and his human foster family member equally. Don’t tell Tyler he has any vision problems because he sure doesn’t think anything is wrong…he is just your typical happy-go-lucky Golden that looks at each new day as a grand adventure; one to be well and truly lived!

We know that somewhere out there is a family that will recognize what lovable and loving boy Tyler is. One that will also know in their heart that he deserves a Forever Family to call his very own.

FOSTER UPDATE - March 29, 2008

Tyler did himself proud in the St. Patrick’s Parade. He proudly led the field of 50+ Golden Retrievers through uptown Charlotte, greeting people alongside the road as we walked, and no one would have guessed he has limited vision.

Tyler had a cyst removed from his eye which has taken away his rakish look but will allow the cornea not to be painfully and continually irritated (as was the case before it was removed). We now know he has a very deep voice but only uses it when he feels it’s really necessary. He continues to love his daily walks and usually leads the way throughout. He has even mastered the doggie door out to the deck. You would think that would be a problem being blind, but it took him only a few minutes to get the hang of it.
Recently, his foster family had a house full of people including several small children. We watched cautiously at first to see how he would react to the “little” people, but we needn’t have been concerned. He was awesome! They played with him (sometimes on him) and he seemed to love every minute of it. He even slept in the hallway outside their bedroom door. It’s a good thing dogs aren’t allowed on planes or I think we would have lost him.

Tyler, the ever perfect gentleman, is now waiting for his forever family to find him.

Foster Update - April 25, 2008

Now that the warmer weather has really started Tyler has discovered (rediscovered?) the joy of water. One day he just about dragged his foster Mom in with him! He couldn’t get in fast enough, so they put a long leash on him and let him go. He went swimming around, dipping his head underneath the cool water, finding floating sticks and bringing them back to shore. He had a ball!

His foster family decided to go for a boat ride to cap of his day with water. Once again, Tyler was in his element, sitting in the bow (see photo) enjoying every second. What a great life to have been rescued from near death to this. All Tyler needs now is a forever family to make things perfect.

Tyler's Photo Album