Helena
March 2010 – Update on Helena’s vision: Helena had successful cataract surgery on March 17th and is currently recovering. She seems to have good vision after the procedure. Due to her specific vision issues, her corrected vision is similar to mono-vision in humans. One eye sees distance better and the other sees close-up and the brain learns to compensate. We have high hopes that she will recover completely and will not have any residual vision issues.
Helena came to us from one of the local shelters. She is around three years old, spayed, micro-chipped and up to date on all of her vaccinations.
This little girl is perfect in almost every way. Helena is pure sweetness, happiest near her people, snuggling on the couch, or trailing around the house after you. She doesn’t care for the crate, and sleeps on her dog bed at night. She is fine left loose in the house during the day. She very rarely barks. She is housetrained (but did have an accident from nervousness upon arrival). She rides well in the car and loves to go on walks, although she will pull on the lead when excited (we’re working on that!). She is learning sit and get down.
We said that Helena was perfect in almost every way. Her one imperfection is that she has cataracts and cannot see very well. She can see shadows and larger shapes. She navigated the house perfectly after about 2 hours, including stairs and doorways. She benefits from being told “step up/step down” in unfamiliar areas. Since she can’t see an animal’s posture, she will defend herself before the other animal has a chance to state their intentions upon meeting them. (She’s mostly noise). However, she gets along with her foster brother after a few days, getting upset only when he gets rowdy and growly. She shows NO aggression with people, letting anyone touch her and be close to her face. She has been fine with older children who do not move around quite so quickly. Don’t know how she is with cats.
Helena is very capable, and not so different from a fully sighted dog. If she went on a hike, she would need ‘doggles’ to protect her eyes from sharp brush. She should not go to a dog park. But, otherwise, she is a sweet, smart, capable, loving pet that is just waiting for that special person to come fetch her and take her home.
If you are interested in meeting Helena, please complete on of our online adoption applications.
