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Kobi...Kevin's New Rescue
Hello everyone,
I wanted to introduce you to Kobi! He is a 3 month old Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd mix, born blind, and rescued from Alabama. Before I go on, you have to see his pics!! LOL
Does it get any cuter than that??? Sorry, I'm just so happy to have this little guy in my life, and of course I think he's the cutest puppy in the world, but that's par for the course when you're a new Dad I guess!!
Life without Ozzi has been difficult, and I miss him terribly. It is two weeks ago today that I lost him. This house has just not been the same. I realize that we all grieve differently, and for many, a new dog isn't a consideration for months or maybe years. After a week, I couldn't stand it, and started searching for a dog.
Taking Abby's age into account, I was specifically looking for a senior dog, and given my successful, albeit bumpy, experience with diabetes, I wanted to get a senior diabetic. I searched the internet and all of the shelters I could find in New England, and came up with nothing. There were absolutely no diabetic dogs of any age to be found. I contacted a woman in Indiana who shuttles an overpopulation of unwanted rescue dogs monthly to New England where they are adopted, and she tried all of the shelters she deals with in the midwest, and came up with nothing. Then I realized that sadly, diabetic dogs probably do not make it to the shelters. So I wrote to some local vets asking that they contact me if they were going to euthanize a dog just because of diabetes and the family would consider giving him up to me. My own vet said she would let me know if a situation arose that fit the bill.
I had gone to petfinder.com several times, and realized that there is a check box for "special needs" dogs, but never found a diabetic. So I figured I needed to broaden my search. I was committed to getting a special needs dog, and if it wasn't diabetic, it still needed a home where it would be loved. After putting in my zip code, the first special needs dog on the list was a 3 month old puppy who was born blind. I wasn't even considering a puppy, so I moved on, but kept going back to him.
Since Ozzi had become blind from cataracts I figured I had some experience with that, and this could work out. That puppy's face just melted my heart. I contacted the shelter in NH and the owner sent me a very lengthy application on Monday, and I was approved on Tuesday. Kobi (formerly named Bly) was being fostered in a home about 2 hours from where I live, so I had to wait until the foster Mom contacted me. It was hard waiting for her to call because I really wanted to get him asap.
On Tuesday evening about 6pm, I was making spaghetti sauce when the phone rang. It was the foster Mom. She was a very nice person and she said that Bly (now Kobi) needed to get one more set of shots the next day. I asked her if I could pick him up that night, and I would bring him to the vet the next day. She spoke with the owner of the Rescue, and the long and short of it is that the stove was turned off, and I was on my way up to get him.
It was a horribly rainy and windy night. As I got closer to the foster home, I became more enveloped in the mountainous terrain of NH. Mind you, it was now dark, and the very back roads of NH are only a bit wider than a sidewalk! No lights, no cars, few houses. I absolutely could not find the street, and called the foster Mom. She knew where I was, and it turns out I had passed the street....their street was the dirt road with no sign!! Go figure! LOL
I got there, and the family was so nice. Two golden retrievers, three cats, Mom, Dad, and two teenagers. I saw Kobi and fell in love. The rest is history! He is AWESOME! I am having so much fun with him. He will never replace Ozzi, but it sure is nice to have Kobi around!
I brought him to the vet, and she determined that his blindness is not from cataracts, but has to do with the cornea. She suspects exposure to a virus as the culprit. She checked him out and did a cotton test, and believes he sees nothing. I have an appointment tomorrow at 1PM with an ophthalmologist at Angell Memorial in Boston. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kobi has learned to go up the stairs by himself in just two days, and I found some baby stuffed animals that play music for about 30 seconds at a yard sale yesterday, which I'll use to teach him to fetch. He LOVES to run, and here is the result of coming home from the park after running around like a nut:
Kevin
I wanted to introduce you to Kobi! He is a 3 month old Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd mix, born blind, and rescued from Alabama. Before I go on, you have to see his pics!! LOL
Does it get any cuter than that??? Sorry, I'm just so happy to have this little guy in my life, and of course I think he's the cutest puppy in the world, but that's par for the course when you're a new Dad I guess!!
Life without Ozzi has been difficult, and I miss him terribly. It is two weeks ago today that I lost him. This house has just not been the same. I realize that we all grieve differently, and for many, a new dog isn't a consideration for months or maybe years. After a week, I couldn't stand it, and started searching for a dog.
Taking Abby's age into account, I was specifically looking for a senior dog, and given my successful, albeit bumpy, experience with diabetes, I wanted to get a senior diabetic. I searched the internet and all of the shelters I could find in New England, and came up with nothing. There were absolutely no diabetic dogs of any age to be found. I contacted a woman in Indiana who shuttles an overpopulation of unwanted rescue dogs monthly to New England where they are adopted, and she tried all of the shelters she deals with in the midwest, and came up with nothing. Then I realized that sadly, diabetic dogs probably do not make it to the shelters. So I wrote to some local vets asking that they contact me if they were going to euthanize a dog just because of diabetes and the family would consider giving him up to me. My own vet said she would let me know if a situation arose that fit the bill.
I had gone to petfinder.com several times, and realized that there is a check box for "special needs" dogs, but never found a diabetic. So I figured I needed to broaden my search. I was committed to getting a special needs dog, and if it wasn't diabetic, it still needed a home where it would be loved. After putting in my zip code, the first special needs dog on the list was a 3 month old puppy who was born blind. I wasn't even considering a puppy, so I moved on, but kept going back to him.
Since Ozzi had become blind from cataracts I figured I had some experience with that, and this could work out. That puppy's face just melted my heart. I contacted the shelter in NH and the owner sent me a very lengthy application on Monday, and I was approved on Tuesday. Kobi (formerly named Bly) was being fostered in a home about 2 hours from where I live, so I had to wait until the foster Mom contacted me. It was hard waiting for her to call because I really wanted to get him asap.
On Tuesday evening about 6pm, I was making spaghetti sauce when the phone rang. It was the foster Mom. She was a very nice person and she said that Bly (now Kobi) needed to get one more set of shots the next day. I asked her if I could pick him up that night, and I would bring him to the vet the next day. She spoke with the owner of the Rescue, and the long and short of it is that the stove was turned off, and I was on my way up to get him.
It was a horribly rainy and windy night. As I got closer to the foster home, I became more enveloped in the mountainous terrain of NH. Mind you, it was now dark, and the very back roads of NH are only a bit wider than a sidewalk! No lights, no cars, few houses. I absolutely could not find the street, and called the foster Mom. She knew where I was, and it turns out I had passed the street....their street was the dirt road with no sign!! Go figure! LOL
I got there, and the family was so nice. Two golden retrievers, three cats, Mom, Dad, and two teenagers. I saw Kobi and fell in love. The rest is history! He is AWESOME! I am having so much fun with him. He will never replace Ozzi, but it sure is nice to have Kobi around!
I brought him to the vet, and she determined that his blindness is not from cataracts, but has to do with the cornea. She suspects exposure to a virus as the culprit. She checked him out and did a cotton test, and believes he sees nothing. I have an appointment tomorrow at 1PM with an ophthalmologist at Angell Memorial in Boston. I'll let you know how it goes.
Kobi has learned to go up the stairs by himself in just two days, and I found some baby stuffed animals that play music for about 30 seconds at a yard sale yesterday, which I'll use to teach him to fetch. He LOVES to run, and here is the result of coming home from the park after running around like a nut:
Kevin
Looks like he's got some big feet on him! He is a very lucky little boy to have you for his dad. Can't wait for the updates 
The sleeping picture definitely shows his golden genes. Totally adorable Kevin. You will have your hands full for sure. What does Abby think?
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