Blind puppy to be trained as service dog
Trotting happily across Judy Essman’s kitchen floor, Rosie the golden retriever seems like any other puppy from her 6-week-old litter.
However, when Essman, owner of the Golden Choice breeding service, slips on a pair of tinted “Dogglers,” or dog goggles, over Rosie’s eyes it becomes clear that the puppy is unique. Rosie was born blind. “I don’t want children to be afraid of her as she gets older,” Essman says, referring to Rosie’s gray, glossy eyes. “You have to get them (familiarized with) the glasses really early on, so they’ll be able to wear them more often for outings.”
Essman says that in her nearly 13 years of breeding dogs, a large majority of which are utilized as therapy/service animals, she has never had another puppy from a litter be born without sight.
“Blindness in goldens is not a breed-specific genetic defect,” she says. “So when her eyes weren’t opening after two weeks, I took her to see Dr. (Marty) Greer at Vet Village in Lomira.”
After Greer broke the membrane covering Rosie’s eyes, they gave the puppy a few days, then concluded that Rosie was blind.
“She said it was due to an infection that affected her eyes,” Essman says. “She can probably sense light and dark but her vision is extremely limited beyond that.”
Essman says it took the puppy a short time to rely more on her other senses such as hearing and smell, but some small adjustments were made in her home for Rosie.
Rosie remains curious about the world around her.
“Rosie is very outgoing and loves people, which is an absolute ‘must’ in order to be a therapy dog,” Essman says. “With both of Rosie’s parents being therapy dogs, I saw this as a great opportunity to start another therapy dog, so she will begin classes Sept. 6.”
Jake Guell, dog trainer and owner of Tails for Life, says although Rosie’s other senses will heighten because of her lack of sight, it is likely to take her a little longer to become therapy-certified.
“One of the biggest things coming out of Rosie’s case is that she will bring awareness to the fact that those with disabilities are just as capable as every one else,” he says. “She is definitely going to bring a lot of joy to kids, too.”
Essman hopes encountering Rosie will help children with disabilities or differences understand they are born to do great things.