Dixie (her papers say Cindy’s Dixie Doodle)

Owner – C. Hope Clark, owner FundsforWriters.com

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My husband purchased her from a breeder as a surprise for me.

Dixie went blind from glaucoma. She started with migraines, and lost most vision in one eye literally overnight. We fought to save her vision in the other eye, working closely with a canine ophthalmologist, but we lost the fight. She’s also 90 percent deaf, which happened within a year of her losing her sight. Cause unknown. All of this happened to her at the age of 12-13 as well as losing her life-long spaniel-mix partner that died at the age of 17. She had a string oftraumatic events happen to her in terms of a few months, especially at so late in life

She endured depression for several months. We made her walk around the house, however, and find her way. We had to learn how to keep the furniture in its place and keep things picked up from the floor, like shoes and such, or she’d trip over them. She learned to follow the walls and maneuver around the house in a very short time. She can still go up steps, but of course will not go down. But she adapted well. We have a bed in three rooms so she can find a familiar place to rest. She’ll patrol the house sometimes, just checking out where people are. She might be slow, but she’s steady. She has slowed more this year, and her favorite spot is on the sofa “watching” movies with my husband who has been known to  talk to her about the quality of cable television.

She has found her voice back, and we are delighted. She’s learned to bark since she cannot always find her way to the kitchen fast enough to suit her, and cannot find her way fast enough to the door to ask to go out. When it’s dinner time, she barks in the kitchen. When it’s time to get out of bed, she barks. When she is thirsty, she barks. She might not be able to see or hear, but she can sure communicate when it’s time to eat, drink, wake up or go outside. She’s regained some life.

Venison and rice. She has lost all but 5-6 teeth now. Since she has some food allergies, we struggled years ago finding what she could eat. My husband fills the freezer with venison each fall, and he’s created a veterinarian-approved recipe we call rice-a-deer. The minute we start browning the meat, Dixie comes alive, barking until it’s done and a sample put in her bowl. She loves it best when it’s fresh cooked.

She’s a cuddler in the bed and still loves to ride in the car. She may not see, but she can stick her nose to a vent and imagine what’s outside. She travels frequently with us. Just this past year she visited family for Christmas, the beach, an apple orchard, a pumpkin patch, along with numerous trips around town.

Patience. She’s also taught me to appreciate life and health, because it can change overnight when you least expect it.

 

Animals with disabilities can give love back to owners as much as and even more so than healthy animals. They adapt and turn lemon into lemonades better than most human beings.  We can learn from their positive outlook.

Personally, I just wish she could still see her squirrels and ducks outside. I had a window box built in my study with steps, so she could jump up and watch the wildlife around the lake. I’m a freelance writer, and she used to sit in my lap, sleep at my feet or sun on the window seat – my steady companion as I worked hard. Today she’s happier in her bed or on the sofa, sleeping most of the time as she relaxes in the senior season of her life. But we have memories as I’m sure she does, too. And now, she’s earned the spoiled pampering she receives.

Thank you, Hope for sharing your beloved Dixie with us.  I appreciate your honesty about wishing Dixie could see the squirrels as you know how much she loved seeing them.  I still have pangs of wishing Frankie could walk on her own so I understand having those feelings.  And I also know, like you, I would not trade one moment I have with her.  They give us so much as is evident with your Dixie.