There's Something Special About Dapple
By Joe R. Lock
CKC registered Miniature Dachshund, Hot Diggity Dog, or "Dapple," to those
who know and love her is one special little pup. Dapple was born with detached
retinas in both eyes and if you didn't know before hand, you would never know
she was blind.
Dapple's problem didn't seem to bother 14-year-old, Ashley
Knight, and her mother, Holly, of Camden, West Virginia. They lovingly adopted
the pup and decided to raise her in spite of her disability. "People don't even
know she is blind," Ashley eagerly told me. "People are shocked and sometimes
don't believe it," Holly added. Dapple is very friendly and doesn't seem to mind
strangers. That is a good trait because Ashley is very social and all of her
friends at school seem to be really fond of the little dog.
Holly also
told me that they had Dapple spayed so that this trait could not be passed on,
but a pet with a disability is no reason not to adopt it and offer it a loving
home. Ashley has an Arabian horse that she enters in 4-H projects, and she said
that Dapple and the horse get along fine. "About the only thing that Dapple is
afraid of is the dishwasher and the washing machine," Holly
said.
Training the dog was no different than training any other dog.
Dapple responds to the basic obedience commands such as sit, stay, lie down, and
heel. Dapple responded fast and well to learning. Ashley said that she really
didn't have to make any adaptations to her training techniques. This writer
believes that just as in humans, a sightless dog will develop even stronger
olfactory and audio perceptions. I'm sure these stronger developed senses helped
in the dog's training. The dog is also house broken. She loves to ride in the
car and will sit in one's lap while that person works on a computer. She has a
great nose, and Ashley is considering entering her in CKC tracking events
someday. Ashley also told me she will enter Dapple in some 4-H all breed junior
handler dog events.
Holly Knight feels that companionship is the real
issue. Ashley also has a disability. She is a type 1 juvenile insulin dependent
diabetic. Dapple and Ashley seem to have bonded like few other human/canine
companions. Could the disability be the reason? Who knows? But, after talking
with Holly and Ashley, this writer has to ask, what disability?
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