Bobby Sue

 
From A Blind Dog

I cannot see you Mommy, 
when you cuddle me so near.
And yet I know you love me. 
It's in the words I hear.

I cannot see you Daddy, 
when you hold me by your side.
But still I know I'm special 
when you tell me so with pride.

I cannot see to run and play
out in the sun so bright.
For here inside my tiny head
it's always dark as night.

I cannot see the treats you give 
when I am extra good.
But I can wag my tail in thanks, 
just like a good dog should.

"She cannot see. The dog's no good." 
Is what some folks might say.
"She can't be trained, she'll never learn. 
She must be put away."

But not you, Mom and Daddy. 
You know that I'm alright.
Because I love you just as much
as any dog with sight.

You took me in. 
You gave me love
and we will never part.
For I am blind with just my eyes. 
I see you with my heart.

 
Sherrill Wardrip
Rev.  3-14-99
 Bobby Sue is in a new book. 
A woman, on the Blind Dogs list, 
has written a book called 
"Blind Dog Stories" 
There is a chapter called 
"A Different Point Of View". 
It is about how children react to a blind dog, 
and the picture for the chapter is of Bobby, 
being held by one of the kids next door, Kasey.
( see above photo )
You can learn more about the book at: 
http://www.teleport.com/~dlevin/
Click on - About "Blind Dog Stories", 
then scroll down to where Bobby is.

I am so proud of my baby Bobby Sue. 
And now she is in a real live book!!
Bobby Sue's story is below
She was a singleton ( an only puppy ) ,and her mother ran a 
high fever during the pregnacy. The vet decided that this was 
going on about the time  the eye organs should have formed. 
But due to the fever, it never happened. Of course when she 
was born her eyes were closed so it wasn't obvious to her 
breeder that there was a problem. 

When they did realize that she was blind, 
they couldn't bring themselves to put her down, 
so they found a young couple that said they wanted her.

The problem there was that they both worked, so Bobby spent her 
days confined to an ex-pen. They would take her out in the 
evening and show her some attention, but they soon realized it 
wasn't fair to Bobby, so they returned her to the breeder.

Julia raises show dogs and both Bobby's parents are champions. 
Julia also knew she couldn't give Bobby the attention she 
deserved and she also treated Bob like she was handicapped. 
I mean, she was kept in the house away from the other dogs 
and in an ex-pen so she wouldn't wander around and possibly 
get hurt. Since Julia shows she travels a lot and felt that Bobby 
needed a home where she could get more attention or she 
would have to euthanize her. None of her show friends wanted 
her or knew anyone that did.  After the death of Carlotta I 
found the Chihuahua list and posted that I was lokking for 
another dog, possibly one that no one else wanted. I was 
put in touch with Julia and when I drove out to meet her and 
Bobby I knew I was a goner!  I got down on the floor and 
called her to me. She found her way to me, licked me on the 
nose and that was that. She came home with me last May 
and this will be her lifelong palace.
As to training.....It took her one day to figure out where the 
food and water dishes are and how to find them and about 
3 days to learn her way around the house. Every time Bessie
would go out to potty I would put Bobby in the yard and she
would go, too. We had a few accidents until I learned to 
understand what she was trying to tell me when she would
come to me like she wanted to be held then run away. We 
built special steps for her off the deck and now I just open 
the sliding door and she goes out, makes a sharp left, goes 
down the stairs out into the yard, takes care of biznez and 
comes back up the stairs and into the house. When the 
weather is nice and she wants to run and play in the yard 
she knows that the yard is fenced and bordered with flower 
beds. So when she is running and hits beauty bark she stops 
because 2 feet away is the fence. Other than the steps we 
make no concessions to her and do not treat her as if she is 
handicapped in any way. Being as tiny as she is we do pick 
her up onto the bed and lift her down but that's it. If she 
wants to be held when I am in my recliner she lets me know 
and I pick her up. If I leave her there and she wants down 
she turns around and backs to the edge and then lays down 
and slids off onto the floor.
She knows the basic commands like sit, stay, down, stop and 
come. I snap my fingers when I say come so she can home 
in on the sound to find me. I taught her the same way I taught 
Bessie. I put her in the desired position and repeated the 
command a few times. Then I would give the command and 
if she did the right thing she was praised and skritched. If not 
I would put her in the position and....repeated as neccesary. 
She also knows when we come to a step and I say 'step up' 
that she needs to stop, find out how high the step is and then 
go up it. She does a two part trick, too. When I tell her to 
dance she spins really fast and then I say 'dance up' and she 
stands up on her hind feet and hops. She also knows the 
sound of the zip baggie the cookies are in and will start 
spinning when she hears it open. In fact she will spin when 
I open any zip bag .
Being born blind she thinks that this is how the world is and 
she does just fine. Also her sense of hearing and smell are 
extra sharp and she uses them in place of eyes. When we 
go for walks she is slow because each step is deliberate as 
she feels for changes in the surface. But once she has been 
some where and feels comfortable she explores and snoops 
and plays around like any other dog. Most people when 
meeting her for the first time cannot belive she is blind. She is 
so confident and friendly.
Many people say that she is lucky to have me but I beg to differ. 
I am the lucky one. She has given me so much love and taught 
me so much about dealing with life and the rotten tricks it plays. 
And she and Bessie are the best of friends. In fact they are curled 
up together sleeping off the effects of a lunch of rib steak bones 
with lots of meat left on them. Nope, they're not spoiled.
Sorry this got so long but when I start talking about the kids 
I just can't stop. I don't even talk about my Grandkids this much!!

Sher & The Grrrlz
Bessie & Bobby Sue
Fall City, WA