# Our Honeybee the Blind Maya



## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

This is our Honeybee the Maya. Maya is 5 years old and blind on both eyes( Soon , she will be in US and so her bright days will start under the wings of YGRR. The love & attention she will receive at Riverview will compensate the loss she went through but till than we wish Maya to pass the time as smooth as possible.
Both by her vet & specialist in opthalmology it has been confirmed that she will never see again ...We think of enuclation of the left eye. I am not going to bother you here how she got blinded which I will write about lateron since it still bothers me that it could have been prevented if she had the right care & treatment 6 months ago.

Life seems to be of course difficult for her at the moment because she is not born blind and have been informed she got blind only 6 months ago. On top of it, she had aswell a car accident while she was roaming on the streets. She is naturally afraid of cars on the street while she is on leash but enjoys car rides.
We have read a couple of articles on blind dogs but each dog is different so their psychology. She learned a couple of English vocabulary at the moment such as "sit", "walk", "stairs", "water" , " food", " good girl", "turn", "wait", "safe"...She is at a temporary foster home at the moment staying solo in her area but after her operation , she will move together with 4 other rescue goldens and will stay as a solo dog again in her separate room. We hope that one of the other rescue goldens will be a guide dog for her supporting her both emotionally & physically .They will get to know to Maya one by one. We do not wish to overwhelm her. 
3 Ramps of around 85-90 inches have been ordered since there are many stairs in the garden which will be covered with anti-slippery material but still not sure with which kind of material. I was thinking of the ones on the boat decks. Two of the ramps may get wet in case it rains therefore shall be waterproof , the other one can be covered with carpet in case her future family will use carpet for indoor ramps. I guess it is better she get accustomed to different ones beforehand. Any suggestions? We also kind of started using a specific incense / oil ( honeysuckle) of for marking the entrance / doors and will put small pieces of rugs where the ramps start & finish, we also got a bell for her.
After much phonecalls and googling, we learned that there are no bumper for blind dogs in Istanbul . We will have it made or get amazon shipped. There are different types in the market and if you suggest one, please let us know.
Not much experienced with dogs who got blinded later in their life , would very much appreciate if you share your experiences & suggestions with us🐝


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Bumping up


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

@CAROLINA MOM No one on the forum had a blind GR I guess. I am taking suggestions from the other forum's members. Life is already boring for all dogs due not being able to go around during Covid and for a blind dog even more because cannot enjoy much the usual activities that a healthy dog can do. Difficult to find stimulation for them.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

No advice, but bless you for taking such good care of sweet Maya.


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

I wish I could offer some advice, but our situation was a bit different. Our Nellie made it to almost 14 years old. The last several months of her life she was blind do to GR Pigmentary Uveitis. As I recall, she got around ok because she lived in the same place her whole life and knew her way around. But at her age she didn't really move around much anyway. She didn't live long as a blind dog, nasal cancer got her, she was in pain and we had to say good bye.

Agree with cwag. It's awesome what you are doing.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I've reached out to a friend who had an older dog who went blind to see if she can log in here and give you some advice. 

In the meantime, are you familiar with "halos" for blind dogs? A quick Google search should bring up some options.

It sounds like you've come up with some good ideas for her so far. Once she's settled in she might enjoy doing some scent work for enrichment. Something to research as you await her arrival...


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Peri29 said:


> @CAROLINA MOM No one on the forum had a blind GR I guess. I am taking suggestions from the other forum's members. Life is already boring for all dogs due not being able to go around during Covid and for a blind dog even more because cannot enjoy much the usual activities that a healthy dog can do. Difficult to find stimulation for them.



Several years ago, there was a UK member that had a blind dog, it was not a Golden. He used to post about her/him. He has not been on the Forum in a few years.


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

Hi Peri, I would look into an anti-skid paint. Then you don't need to worry about saturated carpet, or any other surface covering that has to be adhered to the ramp. Anti-skid paint can be purchased for outdoor surfaces that are exposed to the elements. Here is an example of the product on Amazon: 



https://www.amazon.com/Fixall-F06570-1-Anti-slip-Paint-Gallon/dp/B073D7DF1N#:~:text=ANTI%2DSLIP%20PAINT%3A%20Skid%20Grip,making%20high%2Dtraffic%20areas%20safer


.

Finding a sighted buddy and keeping them together for adoption would be an interesting idea. I am sure it is something YGRR would consider. Here is a recent article on a sighted golden helping out his buddy:

Blind Golden Retriever And His Guide Dog Are Stealing The Hearts Of People - Daily Doggo Memes


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Thank you all!!
I have a couple of friends who have blind dogs but they have been in this situation since puppyhood o/very young age when adopted.Or there are those who lost their sight while living in the same household.Since Maya will be temporary time in Istanbul till she arrives to MA,I am getting confused which kind of environment we shall prepare for her psychologicalwise aswell.Therefore,I thought a guide dog even temporarily will be of support.I loved the story of Jack & Addie @OscarsDad You all know GR "Smiley" who won the hearts of millions.After he crossed the rainbow bridge,now they have a blind dog from birth and a puppy GS they adopted became a natural guide dog to Sunny..German shephers are both mentally & emotionally very smart dogs.
Maya will be taking a very long flight .She is already scared of car engines. I guess having a support dog that she gets accustomed beforehand will be a great relief for her also on the plane.I really wonder which one of the boys will be a better fit for Maya🙈Maybe all of them since they are all very very good dogs and as a quartet they created a great harmony among eachother. Maybe, at the end they will be adopted as a quinted together with a free bonus householdlady (I am very serious and you know what I mean @OscarsDad .)

As said life is very boring for them at the moment and on top of it we may not take them out due to covid and amount of strays on the streets.It is not enough to clean their paws after going around because they like to lay down once we take a break at a coffeeshop and roll in the grass. We cannot wash them after each time they go around which will ruin the hair which have been neglected for so many years We have been given a disinefectant for after walks to clean their furs but in my opinion it is nonsens. Those boys & Lana of YGRR have been found in horrible situations.They must have suffered beforehand sooo much and especially Dustin is almost 24/24 indoor dog. Most of them are seniors , so they are at the moment living a dejavu of their puppyhood years when they have been once pampered till they have been dumped on the streets .Now they just want to feel safe and human contact. We call them "natural born quarantineers" and indoors we do not know how to stimulate them much and we wonder with Maya.
Maya after 4 weeks of hospitilization and time spent till her vaccinations started at the foster as solo dog, she could not make any friendship except "Badem" which is another dog breed like GRs, Cockers a breed which is being exploited in Turkey. A petstore victim dog with Parvo & other many health issues, she is enyoying her healthy 3rd year. Maya, as a good luck already presented her with a piece of her headband collection.

I will make a separate post on Maya once she moves with the gang and you can all follow her weekly routine from the post.You never know it may be useful for a future blind GR here on the forum.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

I wish I would not have to write this under Maya's content.However,I could not help myself.Just yesterday,I have been mentioning how some breeds are exploited in Turkey including cocker spaniels.Well,today just an English Cocker Spaniel not even a years old has been raped by owner's business partner who had to leave the office for an hour.The neighbours of the same street has been hearing the awful screams of the dog and called the owner. There are horrible images that I cannot post here.Do not assume he has been arrested.He is a member of the current political party and just after a quick interrogation by the police ,he has been released.
Now,this is my referral to some forum members who were writing here a month ago under the post "foreign scams" and other posts that they have seen the dogs of AGA &other rescues which have been imported and they are perfectly well taken care of & not seem to be in need.I hope you all realize that we are not trying to rescue dogs from Far Eastern & Middle Eastern countries only from horrible conditions such as living on the streets,forests or shelters as a stray but we are trying to rescue them from sick mentalities such as slaughter & rape. I am sure you were enjoying when you were writing your heartless comments on subjects that you have no idea about.You know everything.Now Enjoy your day if you can.Because I cannot while suspecting any human near any dog of being a potential rapist.
I am horribly down at the moment and do not have the energy to tag people on the mentioned foreign scam posts.Please do on my behalf @CAROLINA MOM @OscarsDad


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

And another Golden on the same day which has been stabbed on 3 diff body parts.Enjoy!!!


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