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Likes: Butt Rubs, Being with his Daddy, Walks to the Lake,Treats and Toys
Pet-Peeves: Not being able to see the things he loves but he doesn't really show that
Favorite Toy: Soft toys that honk, like ducks and pheasants
Favorite Food: His first piece of Prime Rib we gave him when he got in our car at the Rescue Group.
Favorite Walk: Down to the lake
Best Tricks: Walking down to the lake on a slack leash
Arrival Story: My wife and I had to send our last Doberman on his journey to the Rainbow Bridge, August of 2006 and we weren't going to get another dog. Right after Christmas, someone sent me e-mail with the URL of a site they said I needed to check out and it was a Doberman Rescue Group and the story of Denzel, now Takoda ( Sioux for Friend to All ).
It seems a Puppy Mill had five Dobermans and must have considered them of no use anymore so they were going to turn them over to a Kill Shelter. I guess anything would have been better then having to spend your life outdoors, in a cage that you could barely turn around in, with little food, no Vet care and no human interaction. Someone notified the Rescue Group and they took all five, the middle of November. All were underweight, Takoda weighed 55 pounds, with heart worms and internal parasites. They took them to the Vet, had everything taken care of and the other four were adopted before Christmas. Takoda, wasn't that fortunate and things really didn't look good for him to find that Forever home that all dogs deserve. You see, sometime in that hellish existence he went blind. Two detached retinas, most likely from severe head trauma, made the world black for him but he also has another problem. Diabetes Insipidus that requires expensive medication to control.
To make this short, my wife and I visited his page every day for about a week, hoping he found a home, but it looked like my original feelings that he would never be adopted were right. A call to the Rescue Group, a trip to NC and a shy, nervous and thin Doberman had found a home.
We have had him a little over a year now and he has changed tremendously. He really doesn't realize he's blind and is a welcome greeter to everyone, wanting a pat on the head, a scratch behind the ears and a good butt rub, if you give him a chance to spin around. He has become an integral part of our family, my wife and I, 3 sons, 5 granddaughters, 1 grandson and two great granddaughters and he is loved by everyone.
I have always believed that once in everyones life that one Special dog comes along. Thor, our last Doberman, was that Special dog but it seems we have been blessed twice. Takoda is very Special. I have been asked many times why we would adopt a blind dog and use to just reply, " Because I knew you wouldn't. " Now I can honestly say: My blind dog has taught me love and devotion, patience, understanding, how to overcome adversity, how to think first and act second, that life is what you make it and so much more. What has your dog taught you?
Forums Motto: Takoda - Blind but doesn't know it
The Groups I'm In: ♥ Saving Animals' Lives ♥, ♥All Fur Fun♥, Deutsche Hunde Living Room, Doberman Home, Dogster Marketplace, GOT DOBES?, ~Big and Bold Breeds~
The Last Forum I Posted In: Hello from Squishy
Takoda is up on my bed, that seems to be his fovorite spot anymore and I guess it's because he can really smell my scent and feels secure, and I've just been sitting here thinking. Thinking of what life would be like if we didn't adopt this blind Doberman, with Diabetes Insipidus, and bring him into our lives. Let me correct that, I'm glad he adopted us and brought us into his life. Sure, we've had our problems but they were never anything we couldn't overcome and they were more like Lifes' Learning Experiences.
I can remember when we brought him home from the Rescue Group, since it was in NC we had a lot of time to think about what we were getting into, and wondering just what life was going to be like with him. A shy, timid Doberman, skinny and with almost no human interaction or training, scared and Blind. What were we getting ourselves into? Part of that was answered when we stopped for gas and he got up from his bed, it was the first time he moved, and put his nose by the drivers door where I went out. When I came back in, he curled up on his bed again and went to sleep.
We arrive home and the next question was: How are we going to show him the house? That was easily solved when I lead him inside and took off his leash. He was timid but walked through the house and really didn't bump into anything. He found his water and food bowl, found his bed ( with his blanket the Rescue Group gave us ) and laid down. All in all, it took him 2 minutes to learn his new home. He jumped when you came to him but he was home and I believe he knew it was going to be his furever home.
I spent the first couple of days sleeping on the floor with him, he was never house-broken and I wanted to be able to get him out as soon as he stirred and his Diabetes Insipidus gives him an insatiable thirst and nobody was exactly sure of how much medicine to give him, and he was housebroken in a few days, knew the house and our property and would walk on a loose leash where He wanted to go and had accepted us and was showing affection. Not bad for a dog who spent the first 2 to 3 years of his life in a Puppy Mill, where he was kept in a cage where he could hardly move ( that accounts for the huge,broad chest he now has )
had little human interaction and was getting his puppy training when most dogs are in advanced training. That was amazing.
Just how amazing he was kept being shown on a daily basis. He would start to rip a toy apart-tell him No and he'd stop immediately. Best of all, he wouldn't do it again. No matter what he did wrong, once corrected, he never did it again. True, you corrected him in a low tone, never loud so it frightened him, and that thought me that you really didn't have to be stern when correcting a dog, just firm. A slight change in vocal tone was enough.
How long did it take to teach him how to heel, stay, sit, down - the basic commands - when I believed he trusted me enough to work with him, he learned them in ONE day. That's right, One day. It took a couple of days to reach the point where I could take his leash off, have him sit and stay, walk about 20 or 30 feet away from him and have him come to me as soon as I said come and kept snapping my fingers so he knew where to come. It was clear that he wanted nothing but to please me and would do anything I wanted to show that. In fact, when I told Carol ( the woman who runs the Rescue Group ) just how well he was doing, her reply was " Ron, I believe that dog would do anything in the world for you. It's just unbelievable how much he has changed. " Truer words were never spoken.
It didn't take long for us to realize that we weren't teaching, or training, Takoda - he was teaching us. Everyday became a learning experience. Walk him down the path, through the woods, and when his hair went up and he stared in a direction, follow his unseeing gaze to see deer, turkies, fox and other animals you would have never seen before. Don't over-correct him but give him a chance and he'd show you how it's done. Just gently let him know he's done wron
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