Blind Yellow Lab Has Her Own Guide Dog
PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (WCCO) -- Some things in life are predictable. Find Duke and you'll find Daisy. It is quickly apparent the two yellow Labrador retrievers get along better together. Without Duke, you see, Daisy bumps into things -- a lot.
"She's 10 and she's completely blind," said professional dog trainer Leda Blom. "So she follows his lead."
That makes Duke, Daisy the dog's "Seeing Eye Dog," so to speak. She is also his mother and they have never been apart.
Unfortunately, their owners lost their home to foreclosure. It is a scenario the dog rescue group Secondhand Hounds is seeing more often in our troubled economy.
"We get a lot of people [who are being forced] to surrender their dogs," said the group's director, Rachel Mairose. "They don't have a choice. We try to accommodate as many as we can."
What they have never seen is a partnership like the one of Duke and Daisy. Blom has been teaching Daisy a warning command but her best defense is still Duke.
"He doesn't let her out of his sight too much. If she goes around a corner, he's very quick to follow up on where she is," she said.
Thanks to the rescue group the Labs have already been spared. They were just days away from being euthanized at an animal shelter that was unable to find them permanent homes.
Secondhand Hounds does not have kennels or an animal shelter. All of the pets in its care are placed with 150 foster homes with volunteers.
If the right owners come forward, Duke and Daisy hope to be placed as a pair, allowing them to keep their special relationship going.
If you're interested in learning more about adoption or volunteering with Secondhand Hounds, just click on the link below.
