Spring Break
A&M's Small Animal Clinic treats blind Great Pyrenees
By: Melissa Appel
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: News
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On Thursday, Buddy, a 1-year-old Great Pyrenees, visited the Small Animal Clinic to investigate possible solutions for his blindness and to switch owners.
Buddy's life before the visit to the clinic was not what one would expect to find from such a loving, energetic and playful puppy. Buddy was born with a birth defect in which his eyes were not fully developed. His original owners thought Buddy could grow out of this health problem, but when a year passed without improvement, the owners left Buddy at the pound.
A couple adopted Buddy from the Texarkana Animal Shelter only five days before his scheduled euthanasia. Unfortunately, they were unable to continue housing the dog because of Buddy's habit of barking during the night.
A Texarkana shelter volunteer offered her home for Buddy a couple of weeks ago, strictly as a temporary stay. Her property is fenced for cattle, so Buddy endangers himself by escaping and chasing cars down the road. She has been using rescue society networks and websites to find a permanent home for Buddy. His information eventually trickled down to the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society, an organization based out of Houston.
Frances DeGelia, the Bryan-College Station area coordinator for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society, saw the dog on her network and immediately felt the call to help. "I'm a sucker for old dogs, sick dogs, dogs that are needy, that sort of thing," DeGelia said. Her support for Buddy was two-fold: find a home and schedule an appointment to improve the dog's eyesight.
DeGelia contacted the A&M Small Animal Clinic, where she had previously taken severe cases. Buddy was going to have to wait several weeks to visit an ophthalmologist there, but when an appointment slot opened up on Valentine's Day, DeGelia quickly accepted, calling it "fate."
The Valentine's Day appointment went smoothly, although it didn't yield a miracle. Dr. Joan Dzieyc, DVM, an ophthalmologist at the Small Animal Clinic, examined Buddy and found that nothing could be done to improve the dog's eyesight. She said that his condition is called microphthalmia - a case in which a dog's eyes are too small to function - and it was congenital. "It's hereditary in some breeds or it could have happened to the fetus in vitro," Dzieyc said.
This weekend, Buddy traveled to Franklin to meet his new foster mom, Elin Phillips. Phillips cares for 12 miniature donkeys, seven dogs and six foster animals, and has worked as a foster for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society before.
Although it might not have been obvious to his previous owners, Phillips and DeGelia see Buddy's lack of sight as a blessing in disguise. Both animal lovers have been active in assisted-animal therapy. This rising form of therapy involves taking animals of various breeds and species to hospitals and nursing homes to provide love, compassion and hope.
"Animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities are great for people that enjoy their animals and want to give back to their community," Phillips said. Besides dog breeds, both Philips and DeGelia have had success with other species in these settings - Philips with miniature donkeys and DeGelia with rabbits.
Buddy is to become a regular visitor to nursing homes. After witnessing that Buddy doesn't let his blindness slow him down, DeGelia feels that Buddy would serve as an even greater inspiration for the disabled and ill in these locations. "Buddy would become an ambassador to those sort of people," DeGelia said.
Phillips sees a possibility of using Buddy in an educational setting. She teaches at a school in Franklin that is initiating an animal program involved with therapy and reading. "He would be a good representative to the special-needs population," Phillips said.
Before starting his work in animal-assisted therapy, Buddy will have to be tested and receive his therapy dog certification. The tests for this certification involve checking that Buddy will not react violently to loud noises, large groups of people or hospital equipment. This certification is available through two area organizations: Delta Society, which provides national certification, and Aggie Pets with a Purpose, which provides area certification only.
Buddy's future looks promising and hopeful, but his journey is not done. As Phillips is only a foster parent, DeGelia is still looking for a permanent home for the blind dog. Anyone interested in owning Buddy can contact the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society through their website. The website also has information concerning other Great Pyrenees up for adoption and their foster program, which provides veterinary care and medicine for those willing to open their homes to the needy dogs.
DeGelia knows how important it is to find each one of her dogs a home, although it isn't always easy. People tell her that she cannot hope to save every dog, but DeGelia knows how to respond. According to the words of an unknown fellow animal lover, "Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."
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