I am the owner of Ollie, the blind long hair chihuahua that was entered in Cocos castle photo contest. Ollie is going to be 13 yrs old in October. I have had him for about 5 years now. He lost his site about 3 years ago. His vision wasn't the best when I got him but he had some vision in one eye. One day, he seemed to just lose it all at once. Ollie went outside with me one day while I was gardening. When I came in at supper time, he was no where around outside so I assumed he had come in with the kids. At bedtime that night, I realized he wasn't in his pet taxi which is where he spends a great deal of time. I looked all over the house and couldn't find him so we began looking outside. Thank God its a small town and he hadnt gone far. I finally found him wandering around by the church which is just across the alley. When I called to him, my voice echoed off the church and he became confused and started going away from me so I had to talk to him quietly so he could figure out where I was. When I brought him in the house I noticed that he had rubbed the bottom of his chin raw trying to find his way home by using his sense of smell rather than site. That is when I realized his vision had gone completely. The next day, I bought 100 foot of fence and posts to fence in the front yard. Trouble was he still couldnt find his way in because he couldnt get up the steps. He kept going under them. I set to work building a handicap ramp for him that went down along side the steps and covered it with carpet. He learned how to use it quickly and it has also come in handy for any small pups that have trouble with the stairs.

A year after that, I put a doggie door in the side of the house right at the top of the ramp so the dogs can come and go at will, mainly because Ollie seems to need out alot because of his age. He has a weaker bladder than he used to. Anyway, I have spoken to the vet about his vision and they say that it can be corrected with surgery. Trouble is, I would have to take him out of state and it would cost at least $1000 an eye. The vet thought that it would not be worth the cost considering how well Ollie has adjusted and because he is so old allready. I would really hate to lose him during surgery too. He also has arthritis to some extent and moves very slowly in the morning.

When I got Ollie, he had a lot of problems with asthma attacks as well but I think that was mostly caused by nerves since he never has them anymore.I think his fear of being abandoned again caused them because once he realized he was here to stay, the attacks stopped. He and his brother Reagan had been dumped off on friends by his owner who never returned for them and were then bounced from one new owner to another until I took him in. I also found a good home for Reagan where he stayed until he died due to heart problems. Ollie and Reagan were the first long hair chis I had ever seen and it was love at first site.Regan was black with white spots. They were litter mates and both registered but there is no way to get the papers since they had been bounced around so much. I did do some research on the AKC website and find a copy of what I believe to be Ollies pedigree but thats as far as I went with it because of his age. That paper doesnt matter anyway. He is still my first and most beloved chi. I only wish I could've gotten a pup that looked like him before he got too old. I would have loved to have a little female that looked just like him.

Visit my website to meet my pets! Click HERE

My name is Sharon. I have a little six month old Siberian Husky buy the name of Precious Jewels. Jewels is a very special puppy as she is deaf. She is a very smart puppy, she is housebroken, and now knows over 30 hand signals. She goes a lot of places with us. I work at a nursing home and she visits my mother and the other residents there about once a week. She is a very well behaved house puppy.She is pure white with blue eyes.

Spotty is a 4 year old hard of hearing Dalmatian. He is an outside dog who lives with Mr Reno who is a accident prone Heinz 57. We are not sure how much Spotty can actually hear because Mr Reno takes very good care of him. Mr Reno however is slowing down these days as he is now 7 years old and is developing some atherites in one of his back legs.

I have a special needs kitty too, he is named Riley and has FLUTD. His web site is RILEY
What is FLUTD? FLUTD stands for Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease. Both female and males cats may get this. It may affect a low percent of cats whether they are neutered or not.

Riley also belongs to the CLAW speical needs kitty club.

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.

Visit the link above to read about Bobby Sue..a wonderful story of a courageous little doggie.

Her "mom" says...
"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."