"A Ray of Hope: Blind Senior Golden Retriever Finds Renewed Joy with the Rescue of a Puppy Best Friend"
A few years ago, Charlie’s life drastically changed after he had both of his eyes removed as a result of glaucoma.
At first, Charlie seemed to cope well with the dramatic change from day to day.
However, as time passed by, the old dog slowly began to look gloomy and less energetic than he used to be.
His owners, Chelsea Stipe and her husband felt that Charlie would find benefit from having a canine companion to keep him company so they brought home an adorable puppy named Maverick for Charlie.
And they were right!
When Maverick came into their house and started to bond with Charlie, everything about Charlie seemed to get better.
The ever-energetic and playful Maverick encouraged Charlie to open up more and inspire him to find joy in everything he did.
“Charlie has definitely been more playful and puppy-like since Maverick came around,” Chelsea told The Dodo.
“We’d buy him toys and he wouldn’t think about playing with them. Now, they’re just constantly playing with each other.”
Not only Maverick lit up Charlie’s life again but the puppy also helped him to adapt to his limitation.
Even though the puppy was only a few months old, he would be on the lookout when Charlie wanted to move or walk.
“He knows Charlie is different,” Chelsea said. “He’ll put toys in front of him. He’s very aware, when Charlie starts to move, to be on the lookout for him. When they walk together, Maverick helps keep Charlie in line.”
As if Maverick knew that Charlie could not see well, he always reassured him by being right next to him to tell him that he was not alone.
Charlie and Maverick may have a lot of differences in between but together, the two creates a strong friendship that even their owner was surprised to see.
“It’s amazing. They’re just such a great combo,” Chelsea said.
“They’re always together.”
“Charlie’s an older dog. We used to think we could lose him any time,” Chelsea said.
“But now, with Maverick, it’s like he got this jolt in him, this zest for life again. If he had eyes, I know there’d be a twinkle in them.”