Tommy (who we have named) was trapped on the 25 April. We had a feed station set with live cameras with a view to trap for a while, but he never came to the feed station when it was dark. We couldn’t leave the trap there because of the area and other major factors. This was at a previous permanent travellers’ camp and it looks like he was left there when they left it. He had been surviving there on his own for many months apparently. It wasn’t until when we trapped him that we learned that he is blind and deaf.
We found it very unusual for a dog not to come to the feed station at night. He would only visit it during the day. We now know why. Although he is blind, we believe that he can see shadows in daylight. He didn’t wander around when dark.
We have done the 28 day retainer with the dog warden and Tommy will remain in foster care for the time being at least. The vet estimates him to be about middle age, 8 years or so. Upon examination the vet detected a heart murmur. He is not neutered but we aren’t rushing with this because of his heart murmur. He was terrified upon capture and he broke our hearts knowing that he couldn’t see or hear which made it so much more frightening for him.
He has been doing really well at the fosters though and he is slowly coming round and accepting some human interaction. We aren’t rushing this and he is going at his own pace, learning to live inside a house and adapting his routine. We believe he has always lived outside on the travellers camp and it’s been very emotional to have to trap him for his own safety. In an ideal world, he would continue living in that environment because he was thriving there but it simply wasn’t safe. The camp was at the side of a very busy road and while we were working with Tommy there, diggers etc had started work on the camp.
Tommy has been to see a specialist about his eyesight. The specialist has diagnosed that he is completely blind in his right eye and almost fully blind in his left. The vet thinks its congenital or due to trauma such as infection a long time ago. He hasn’t got an infection now and the pressure is normal so he isn’t in any pain but will be checked regularly as if his retinas break down he would be in pain. He is making steady progress with his foster and is happy and content.
