For Weatherby, an eight-year-old black lab, seeing is not believing—at least as far as her loving humans are concerned.
During U..S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Blake Crowe’s Middle East deployment, his beloved dog went blind from Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS).
Eight years earlier, Crowe adopted Weatherby at eight weeks old. Despite years of bonding, Crowe and his wife, Ashlei, feared that Weatherby wouldn’t recognize him when he returned to their Colorado Springs home last October.
But losing her sight didn’t diminish Weatherby’s sense of smell—or what happened when Crowe came home last week.
Ashlei filmed Weatherby’s anticipation and the touching reunion between her husband and their dog.
Weatherby heard Crowe’s footsteps and wiggled with excitement. “Hi, sweet girl. What is it?” Ashlei asked.
Weatherby faced the door. As Crowe opened it, Weatherby sniffed the air, pricked her ears, and ambled toward her daddy, tail wagging madly. Crowe dropped to one knee.
“Ohhh, daddy’s little boogies!” Crowe mooned. Weatherby hiked her front paws onto Crowe’s shoulders and wrapped him in a bear hug.
“She’s just remained so confident and resilient through all this,” Crow told ABC News. “You don’t need sight to know that you’re loved.”
SARDS causes rapid-onset blindness, usually in middle-aged or older female dogs. Signs include increased thirst or appetite, disorientation, bumping into objects, and staying close to their humans. The cause is unknown, though researchers suspect retinal changes relate to autoimmune or neuroendocrine disorders. Sadly, there is no cure.
With her family's support, Weatherby is adjusting to life without sight. In darkness, she found the love that many beings spend a lifetime seeking.