When Jake, a Golden Retriever, lost his vision, his best friend Addie, also a Golden, stunned everyone by becoming his guide dog.
Kim Atkinson’s family adopted Jake first, then Addie after losing their first two Goldens. Atkinson noticed something was amiss with Jake’s eyes when he was just 2 years old.
They took Jake to the vet, who discovered that Jake’s eyes were dry. Jake suffered ocular abrasions after the family tried various treatments to promote and replace tears. Several unsuccessful surgeries followed. “He couldn’t open his eyes because he was squinting so much,” Atkinson explains.
When one of Jake’s eyes was going to burst, Atkinson had to choose between removing it or euthanizing him. They were helpless. “We couldn’t imagine putting him through that surgery,” she says. “We were heartbroken by both options.”
They asked their Instagram followers for suggestions on other pets who had lost their eyes. People who had had one eye removed or were born blind offered so many useful recommendations, Atkinson recalls. They said their dogs recovered fast and had regular, happy lives. Their vet reassured them that dogs use smell and hearing to navigate.
“We couldn’t picture our lives without our beloved Jake and wanted to do everything we could to save him,” she says. Jake had both eyes removed, and the surgeon said he was immediately wagging his tail when he awoke. “We suppose he just felt better.”
Jake had trouble adjusting to his blindness. That’s when Addie, their other Golden, stepped in. When they slept, we’d notice Addie licking his eyes or sleeping next to him, as if she intuitively knew he was mending.
Addie immediately knew how to support Jake as he learned to navigate without sight. Jake hesitated the first time he tried to ascend to the second story. “Addie stepped up ahead of him and looked back,” Atkinson says. She returned down the steps, and Jake followed her. ” No one anticipated Addie becoming her best friend’s guide dog. It was a lovely moment that demonstrated the two canines’ profound bond.
Initially, Addie wore a bell on her collar so Jake could hear her, but Jake quickly learned to track her using his other senses. They’re inseparable now, and Jake can sometimes repay the favor. “When Addie can’t reach or find a toy, Jake finds it before she can,” Atkinson adds.
“Jake has exceeded our expectations,” she says. He loves to play off-leash at the lake since it’s a wide-open environment where he can run without being hurt. His chasing deer! He loves being outside and last summer swam in the ocean with his life jacket. “He is overjoyed,” she says.
The family watched Addie help Jake in the weeks after surgery, but they never expected her to be a “service dog” for Jake. That’s what makes their friendship so special: Addie didn’t need to be trained to aid Jake.
“They are simply two dogs with distinct abilities that are each other’s closest buddy and playmate,” adds Atkinson.