Hi, my name is Helen and my dogs name is Josie, she is 4 years old and totally blind. I got her from the animal welfare league at the gold coast, she was such a cute puppy and when I got her they told me they thought she might be a Koolie.

I had never heard of Koolies so I googled them and yep she looks like one...lately I have been thinking about her breed so I googled again and found this site. She has been blind all her life, we noticed very early on but she gets around fantastically, she is very smart and very active. We also have a Germand Shepard and he loves her....

I use to own and mobile dog wash business and Josie loved coming to work with me. Everyone always says she is too skinny, but we feed her well and the vet says she is very healthy, that is why I looked up koolies to see if it was normal to be very lean, and I see it is...

Here are some pictures of her, do you think she is a Koolie?

These were taken when she was about 2, I will have to take some up to date photo's of her soon....

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...sabub/josie.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...sieinlounge.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...dJosiebeach.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...aJosieHelen.jpg

The last one was taken when she was very young.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my post

Helen

Welcome Helen and Josie (and your Shepherd - what's his name?). This is such a nice forum IMO, hope you enjoy it.

She sure looks like a Koolie to me. She's quite beautiful.

Have you been able to get a diagnosis of what's caused her blindness?

Hi and Thanks Kooliemum,

The vet does not know what has caused her blindness, but she is very healthy and copes with it extremely well. She does bump into things if we move them, but we try to keep everything to same for her, she is our baby....

My Shepard's name is Cuda he is 6 he is also our pride and joy....


Helen

By the way I see you are from Brisbane, I live in the Ipswich area.

hey josiegirl hope you enjoy your time here with us.

I have so much to ask you, your girl does look ever bit a koolie.

If your in Ipswich maybe you could make our workshop at the end of April there is going to be so many Koolies and their owners we'd love to meet you and your girl if she can come.

Has she been blind all her life?
Would you be interested in submitting her DNA our geneticist would love a sample.
If you can make the workshop our collection officers can take a simple swab and it's free.
Her DNA could be very helpful in the understanding more about the Koolie breed.

Can she hear?
Does your boy act as her seeing friend, does he guide her or help her out.
She just sounds so amazing, I look forward to seeing more current photos of her.

I'll stop pestering you for now, don't want to over whelm you, which I probably have already, sorry

Welcome Welcome Helen/josiegirl, Josie & Cuda!!!!

I would imagine that Josie uses her ears very well! Have you been able to find a ball with a bell in it for her to chase? As long as she's happy in her own environment or anywhere she knows well she should do well. She probably follows scent tracks around the home as well. Does your GS look after her??

My little Paxy has micropthalmia (little eye) in her right eye caused by a genetic defect that can come with the merle gene. She sees out of both eyes well even though the right pupil is deformed too.

Hi Tjukurpa, you are not pestering me, I am actually very excited, I love my josie and I thought she was a one of, she is such a special dog, her character is so different to any other dogs I have ever owned, I would love to come to a workshop and meet other people and koolies, when is it on, I am happy to have a DNA test done on her if it helps to understand about the breed.

Cuda does help Josie sometimes but on the other hand he gets annoyed with her sometimes too, If he is on the couch outside and she wants to get on it she will bark and windge at him until he gets off and then she gets on...very cheeky and she always gets her own way, I have to admit we spoil her very much, she sleeps inside always( I think because she is blind she feels very comfortable about being near to us) ....she gets frightened very easy, the vet tried to put her on puppy anti stress tablets, but it did not help....she has fantastic hearing, can hear my hubbies car coming up the road before I can....

I could go on and on about her...so ask any questions you like....

Thanks for the welcome Bluedog, Josie does use scent alot, my two cats ( Hemi and Kimba) just love Josie, it is very funny to watch, they try to get close to her and she does not know they are there until they are right next to her...I think she is a bit afraid of them, even know they try very hard to be friends with her....

Well I am off to take a current photo of her....



Sorry hubby has camera at basketball tonight, I will take a photo of her in the morning...

AAAAWWWWW......she is so beautiful! Some of the animal behavior and Koolie genetics buff's are going to chew your ear off on this forum, just wait. Good on you for taking on a disabled dog. You must be a true dog lover. This forum is really good with matching rescue dogs and disabled dogs with owners who can appreciate them and give them quality of life. Everyone here just loves to talk about their dogs, and keep up with everyone elses. Oh, she really is a stunner....MORE PIC'S Pleeeaase!

Josiegirl has Josie she been blind all her life.?
Has it been difficult raising a blind Koolie.?

I would love to include her story with photos in our newsletter which we send out to all our members Australia wide, they would be blown away to learn more about your special girl, I hope you will agree, this addition goes to print end of March early April.

The workshop is on April 26th and 27th near Kingaroy, there is a heap of us traveling up from Vic, collecting members as we travel through Nsw, all joining us to travel to Qld, so there is going to be a few.

The workshop will include sheep work, Duck work and Agility, for those who wish to pay to participate then there will be other just taking the opportunity to catch up, meet and greet, register, join, submitt DNA and just have the best weekend.
So come prepare to stay over, if you need a bed,we can probable find you one at Janets, she live near Kingaroy about 30 minute away from the venue.

I'll see if I can't round up the exact location for you, my form seems to have gone missing.

Welcome Helen and Josie I hope you enjoy the forum ... psst another Queenslander!!! our numbers are growing even if we are a long way appart.

Thank you JackieH I am glad to add to the Qld numbers

Shaunagh...awww thank you, I think she is a stunner too, I don't mind answering any questions they have, my Husband just got home so we took some photo's...we are going around the house taking photo's calling Josie our little super star!

Tjukurpa, Josie was about 10 weeks old when we got her from the animal welfare league, I went there to get another dog and just feel in love with her, we knew pretty much straight away that her sight was bad, I think she had very limited sight in one eye for about the first 6 months then it when down hill. You will see by the photo's that she has growths over her eye's, the vet said it is a defect that we pretty much can not do anything about.

You ask what it is like to raise a blind Koolie, well we and Josie have not know any different, she has adapted very well on her own. Like I said we take good care of her because she is very skittish sometimes and is easily scared by loud noises, some days she is great other days she does not leave my side, that is why I use to take her to work with me...

We would be honored to have a article about her in your news letter and would give you any informations you need, you would have to ask me what info you need..

Kingaroy is about 2 hours from us so we could come for the day, not sure if Josie could handle 2 days and how she would be around other dogs, she gets a bit snappy sometimes if she is scared but we can decide as it gets closer..

Here are the pics,

By the way you will notice in the pictures she has half one of her ears missing, I woke up about a year ago to be greeted by her at the back door with her ear missing and blood everywhere, she did not seem to mind one bit, I am not sure if Cuda did it or if she got caught up in the shed somewhere? If Cuda did it they would have just been playing...anyway took her to the vet and they stitched her up good as new, we think it adds character...but really I was very upset for a long time every time I looked at her.

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...abub/Josie1.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...abub/josie2.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...abub/josie3.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...abub/josie4.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel.../Josiekimba.jpg

The last picture is my cat Kimba trying to say hello to Josie, but she wants nothing of it.

Helen

I can tell you more stories about Josie and how she has adapted to being blind, she has a routine with everything, you can just about set you watch to her.....

I was just thinking when we bring her to the meet, we will probably bring Cuda too if that is ok as she is more calm with him by her side, I walk them on a double lead and she is fine when she is next to him....

As I said before I could go on for ages about her.

She's lovely!

Here are some more Pictures I took this morning out the back.

Josie in the backyard and Josie playing with Cuda, we are on just over a 1/2 acre they also get walked regularly. We would like to one day get more land so we can have some Horses. My Husband David and I love horse riding and try to go as often as we can.



http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...bub/Josie-2.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...b/Josieyard.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...osieflatout.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...b/JosieCuda.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...udaplaying3.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...udaplaying1.jpg

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...udaplaying2.jpg

Sorry I got a bit carried away with the photo's

Excellent photos! This is such good encouragement to people to know they can give a disabled dog a good life if they have the right set up and attitude. Looks like Cuda is having a hoot too. He looks a lovely boy. Gawd, I can see what you mean about her skinny ribs. Doesn't seem to make her any less lively though. I have a friend who has a deaf Koolie so I know what you mean about the skittishness and nervousness in new situations. I guess it's even more so in a blind dog. Walking Cudo and Josie together in the double harness is a great idea. It must give her so much more confidence. I guess that makes Cudo a sort of seeing eye assistance dog for dogs. Cool

I took Josie to our vet a couple of months ago because I was upset she was so skinny, he said she was fine? But we have put her on high protein food. She is so active all the time, I guess she just runs it off? She got out a couple of months ago and decided to go up the road for a visit with one of our neighbors, they rang the vet because they thought she was neglected, but they couldn't understand why she had a lovely coat and smelt good? luckily it was our vet and he knows Josie really well, and he put them on the right track, but I was so upset I cried for ages.

Cuda is a good boy, Just out of interest, all of our pets were unwanted animals at one stage before we got them.

Cuda, we got as a puppy through a friends, friend, they were GS breeders and there poor dogs were a puppy factory, it upset me, well Cuda was the runt of the little and had a sore on his tail, so they couldn't sell him, they were going to send him to the pound, but I said no way we will have him, and look how he turned out.

Jose as you know we got as a puppy from the animal welfare league.

Kimba (cat 5 years old) I found her in the bush up the road from our house, she had been dumped as a kitten, she was nearly dead, very skinny and dirty.

Kemi ( our other cat 3 years old) I took some blankets food etc to the RSPCA one day and they told me about a kitten they had found in a lifeline bin, yep a lifeline bin, well I just had to take him home....

My husband laughs because I have just applied for a part time job at the Ipswich pound as a Animal Management assistant, he thinks if I get the job our house will be full of pet with in a short time

Ha Ha, If you end up working at the Pound, you're going to end up a secret agent for Koolie rescue. You have no idea what you've got yourself into joining this forum ;)

Great photos - she looks like a happy, normal dog!!! And she has a companion/guide dog to help her!!! Good idea with the double lead - a steady influence would really help her. Just that familiar body nearby would help her.

I've got family at Ipswich (Chuwar).

Cool, I live at Camira, I use to wash some dogs at Chuwar.

They have a BC x called Lucy and one of my favourite dogs in the world a trialling-bred BC called Ozzie. He's really impressive, a bit nutty (but that's what I like about him lol).

Hi Josiegirl, you are going to love it on the Koolie Club site the people are wonderful & you can't talk enough about your four legged family. I've only been here a short time & feel like part of the family already. Josie is a stunner & is very lucky to be with you, your my type of people . Our neighbours have about 15 cats all were dumped or strays, happiest cats around now, & we couldn't ask for better neighbours. looking forward to hearing & seeing more about your menagerie

to the forum!!!
You are going to love it here, and believe me you can never talk too much about your dogs here!!!
Josie is just a stunner and sounds like a sweetie too
She is a Koolie alright. She could be a twin to my young boy Phoenix!!!



He is also a rescue and we have noticed of late he has some problems with his sight.

But well done for being a caring animal person helping all your animals out!!!

Rachelle,

OMG they could be twins! Phoenix! Love his name and he is so handsome!
He is so beautiful, I can't stop looking at his photo.

He is a sweet heart. Phoenix was his name when he was left at the pound and we have just kept his name. Wait to Micheal gets on here, his little guy Ziggy also looks a lot like our two!!!

Sorry for the belated welcome but I have been away from the forum for a week. Josie is one beautiful girl and she looks and sounds like she copes with her blindness quite well. Dogs are very adaptable creatures. I have three rescued animals out of my four animals.

You will love this forum and if you can please come to the clinic in April with both of your dogs. We are very blessed by having the wonderful canines called Koolies in our life.

Hi Ceejay,

Thank you for the warm welcome, I have already go so much information from just reading lots of posts on this forum...

My husband David and I will be coming to the meet in April with Josie and Cuda.

We are very excited about meeting everyone and there beautiful dogs.

Helen.

Josie is beautiful and her lack of sight does not seem to affect her ability to enjoy life. The growths on her eye look like cataracts but she would be too young for them.

Hi Helen,

I am a new member also and first time Koolie owner. Your girl Josie is just beautiful as is Cuda. Love all the photos especially of the two of them playing. We seem to be a rescue home also - I am sure that the animals know this and seem to just give their all. Both our dogs were unwanted - Choccy our Koolie came from the Lost Dogs Home and our Jack was an unwanted freebie too, both our cats (one now deceased) just arrived and never left and one of our Arabian stallions along with a beautifully bred Arabian mare were off to the doggers. We brought them both home on the float together (an interesting and noisy excercise). I just don't understand how people can do this to any animal. Our farm is full of geriatric everything - they all die and get buried here!!!

To the high protein feed thing - our animals (dogs, cats, ferrets) all get kangaroo mince and they look a million dollars. Choccy was very light on when he arrived as the lost dogs home can only give them minimal food. He has put on a lot of weight in the two months that we have had him (not that he will ever be fat, he is too active for that). We swear by it and just add it to a good quality dry food. Might be worth a try for Josie.

Look forward to chatting

Regards
Nikki

Josie's new winter coat...


It is a bit short for her and although she does not look very impressed in the photo she comes to me about 5.30 every afternoon to get it put on....she knows what keeps her warm

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t57/Hel...ewintercoat.jpg

Love her coat - you'll have to add a bum warmer for her! Don't they love wearing their jumpers. My old toy poodle loved wearing his jumper and would lift each foot to put it in the sleeve. His nanna knitted him 3 jumpers to wear! I've been thinking of getting one for Paxy - we're doing training at night so it might be a bit cool some nights in the next few months.

Oh she looks adorable. I don't know whether I would be able to keep a coat on at all on my girls. Mind you they sleep under the air con which is set on heat at the moment, so I think they are fine, spoilt but fine.

I found a really cool bomber jacket for dogs about four years ago, I bought in hope that Zorro would have fitted in it but alas he did not. I gave it away though otherwise I would have posted it to you Josie. If I happen to come across a cool jacket what size is Josie?

She is such a sweetie, and quite the fashion model!

She looks so cute. I've been noticing my horse asking for her rug in the evenings and seeming much happier once it goes on.