Murdock

Being a blind dog comes with enough challenges. Being blind, and a stray in Houston, Texas brings enough challenges it was a wonder this sweet boy's story didn't end there. He was found in traffic by animal control and taken to Harris County Pets for his safety. 

Shelter population was climbing, and a special needs dog with heartworm disease was never going to be at the top of someone's list for adoption. 

I have a soft spot for the "broken things" of the animal world and when I saw his videos on their volunteer Facebook page I was instantly drawn to him. At the time we pulled him, they said they suspected he was blind in his left eye, but upon meeting him it was very clear he was completely blind. 

Over time, we helped him learn cues like "turn" and "step" to help him navigate around the house and out in the yard we would call out "fence" to let him know he was coming up to the edge of the yard. He learned quickly and eventually started digging his own holes that he knew where they all were. 

His personality really started coming out when he learned that Munroe, another dog we pulled from the same shelter, started engaging him in play. She was the perfect playmate for him. 

Murdock's road to adoption was difficult due to his heartworm treatment and his disability of being blind. He had to endure three extremely painful injections to treat his heartworm disease, but if you ever asked him he would tell you the worst part was taking all the meds before and after. 

 Eventually, a foster home approached us and something, I will never be able to explain what, made me ask if they would be open to a dog like Murdock. 

"That sounds amazing, when do I meet him?" 

Once Murdock moved into his new foster home, he never moved out. He was officially adopted a few months after being in their home as a foster dog and is happily living out his days with so much love he has completely forgotten his time as a blind stray dog wandering Houston.