(Ottawa Dog of the Week for November 21st, 2011)
“Romeo is a 9 year old Australian Cattle Dog mix. I adopted him from Nevada Humane Society about 3 years ago after he had been surrendered because his owners no longer wanted him, after he had been adopted, and then returned because he wasn’t housebroken, and then waited for a home for 6 months.
When I adopted Romeo, I was his third home in 9 months, and he was already mostly blind. He had large cataracts and was only able to see shadows, but his rough 9 months didn’t dampen his spirit. Not having the benefit of vision didn’t keep him from doing all the things that make dogs happy like going on walks and playing with other dogs at a doggie day care, or drinking from the toilet when he knew he shouldn’t, and playing tug of war with a rope toy. His age was not what his original owners said – his teeth were awful, and since adoption, he has had all but 4 removed. His cataracts eventually turned into glaucoma, and it was recommended by my veterinarian to have his eyes removed – a surgery called bilateral enucleation. Glaucoma had started to cause his eyes to bulge, and the pressure behind them was enormous and painful. Because he couldn’t see anyways, I had his eyes removed. The surgery seemed quite gruesome, however, intrepid as always, Romeo came home and got well. Out of all of his pain, he seemed to have the biggest problem with his cone.
Romeo has always moved with me and comes along to family gatherings, and has even came to Canada with me from the states for summer holidays. Adjustment, amazingly, is not a problem for him, as he memorizes his home’s outlay. He cuddles like a lap dog, and likes to “hold hands”. We have so much to learn from our pet companions, and Romeo teaches me every day that life goes on, and that I don’t need to have a chip on my shoulder or feel sorry for myself. He embraces life and doesn’t let anything stop him. I am forever thankful to have him in my life.” Romeo’s Human, Stephanie.
This dog is NOT up for adoption. The Ottawa Dog of the Week posts feature a family dog in Ottawa. Each week an Ottawa dog gets to be a star.
The Ottawa Dog of the Week dogs are from loving homes and are not available for adoption.
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Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,
3 Users Responded in " Romeo the Australian Cattle Dog Mix "
Stephanie, Romeo is a beautiful dog, and your commitment to him is wonderful. The endurance, stoic and ever loving nature of dogs is something that we should all cherish. Thank you for this lovely story.
What a beautiful story and an even more beautiful dog. Romeo is a lucky, lucky boy to have you as his ‘human’. Thank you Stephanie for taking such wonderful care of him. Big hugs to Romeo!
Thank you for this lovely post! We’re about to have our Australian cattle dog’s eyes removed due to the same problem, and it’s heartening to read about Romeo and Stephanie’s success story.
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