A blind dog and his “seeing eye cat” will soon be looking for a forever home after the pair was taken in by an Alberta animal rescue group.
Spike, an eight-year-old blind dog, and Max, an eight-year-old cat, were surrendered to the Saving Grace Animal Society in Alix, Alta., on Monday. The dynamic duo has been together their entire lives but their original owners came to realization they could no longer give them the care they need. The animals were living outdoors.
“We got a call in regards to a older dog and a cat on their property that they said, given these colder temperatures, they just weren’t sure if they were having the right quality of life and they were able to provide for them as best as they could,” said Erin Deems, executive director of the Saving Grace Animal Society.
“It’s absolutely adorable. When we walked up onto the property, there was this tiny igloo shelter and they were just cuddled in there right together.”
Because Spike is blind, he relies on Max to get around.
“The cat has just kind of helped him in his little survival trek. They follow each other everywhere, they do every activity together and they sleep together,” she said.
“When we were letting them out yesterday, the cat would walk around and the dog would just go looking for it. He kind of looked at it as more of a comfort animal and a seeing eye cat, as we called it.”
Because the pair has spent their entire lives together, they will be adopted out together. Deems said the shelter will keep the animals as long as it takes to find a family who is willing to take them both.
“They came in as friends and they deserve to find a home together. We find it’ll just make the transition for an old senior dog that’s blind, it’ll just make it so much easier if his cat friend is with him because they don’t know life apart,” she said.
“There’s got to be somebody out there that wants to take them on, but it is a little more challenging. Most people think it’s a lot to take in one animal, let alone two.”
Deems admits it’s also tougher to adopt out older animals.
“People see the timeline they have with that animal. They know in some cases it’s less than a year, in some cases it’s maybe a couple years, and people are looking for more of that long-life pet,” she said.
“But they do need that just as much as the puppy. So it takes a little bit more work for sure but there’s always people out there with open hearts that really want to take in senior animals and show them the retirement home and love that they deserve.”
Spike and Max aren’t quite ready to be adopted just yet. They will both get a full medical check by a veterinarian to ensure they’re healthy enough. Once they’re ready to find their forever home, a notice will be posted on the society’s Facebook page.
Deems said Spike will be available at the senior adoption rate of $375 and “the cat would just be a bonus.”
The Saving Grace Animal Society is currently fundraising in hopes of opening its own vet clinic at the shelter.
“Any donations towards that, any support that people want to give us to help us in that direction is so greatly appreciated,” Deems said.
For more information on the shelter and how to donate, visit its website.