A blind golden retriever that is often mistaken for a guide dog has a guide human of his own ever since he lost his eyes to a disease.
As Melanie Jackson from England explained, her 10-year-old golden retriever Tao was forced to learn how to live without his eyes after they had to be removed due to glaucoma.
“Glaucoma is the build-up of fluid in the eye – it’s got nowhere to drain away. If you can imagine a migraine and times it by a hundred – that was the pain he was in,” Jackson explained.
“It began in February 2019 – we had a normal morning. Everything was absolutely fine. But you just know when the dog is not his normal self. By the night, he was in the most pain I have ever seen so we took him to the vets.
“He was scratching his face. I said: ‘You are going to think I’m mad – but Tao has lost his sight.’ The pressure was so high in his eye. We didn’t have any other choice but to have the eye removed.”
Just months after losing his first eye to glaucoma, Tao had his second eye removed as well. While he may not be able to see anymore, Tao, fortunately, has a great owner who took on the role of his personal ‘guide human.’
“He is amazing. He’s so well trained – he listens to every command. He can go off-lead and waits if you are by a road,” Jackson added.
“If people are coming, he gets close to me and if there’s other dogs off their lead he will be aware of that. He does everything that we have always done.”
As the woman admitted, people often mistake her for being blind due to the dog wearing a blind K9 tag.
“They say, ‘He must be good for you.’ I say, ‘No, I’m his guide human!’” Jackson said.
While Tao may not be able to do everything the way he did before his surgeries, Jackson explained he still loves to walk with her and has a happy life.
“He has a good, happy life. He trusts his ‘mum’ completely,” she said.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!