Dog with no eyes still manages to play fetch.... cool

[trailmonkee]

The owner of a Border Collie that lives on a family farm in north Texas says that her canine companion seems to have a type of super power: she can see without actually having eyes.

Chica, as they call her, had her eyes surgically removed when she was just a puppy, according to CBS News affiliate KXII in Sherman, Texas. However, it turns out that she doesn’t actually need them.

“I don’t understand it at all,” Martha Knox told KXII. “She runs every place she goes. I don’t know, it’s almost like she has radar.”

This video is from KXII in Sherman, Texas, published Wednesday, November 8, 2012. (video atn link) http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/08/dog-with-no-eyes-still-manages-to-play-fetch/

[AtomicKitten]

1. Ninja Dog.

[defacto7]

2. Border Collies are phenomenal creatures!

It's the ears. The dog hears the air move and knows exactly where everything is just like radar. I love these animals. Smart, smart, smart and loyal.

[MiniMe]

3. Link?

[trailmonkee]

4. added - Thanks!

[MiniMe]

13. Thanks, great vid to watch

[Samantha]

5. This thread is really hitting very close to home

My dog Cheyenne came to live with me when she was ten weeks old. Just a small cock-a-poo, I was amazed at her speed and agility immediately. One afternoon, I took her out to teach her to play ball. I started with simply throwing it, and she immediately chased after it, brought it back and looked at me as if to say, I know how to do this, throw it again. Soon she was jumping the fence. Although she appeared just too short to do so, she would run in large circles, gaining speed with each lap, and after the last lap, she sailed over the fence in a way that was simply beautiful to observe.

Fast forward ten years, and she is nearly blind. She has some distance sight left, but cannot see anything in front of her. It really shook the core of her self-confidence. But one day, she came walking out with the ball and dropped it at my feet. I was extremely surprised. But I picked it up and threw it. She went around the room, sniffing to find the ball. Eventually, she did and came back to continue the game. I learned to throw that ball, making it bounce. She listened and learned to head off immediately in the right direction. Eventually, I started rubbing the ball on her, so her smell could help her find the ball. Soon after that, she started running again. That was simply amazing. But I take her on walks in the exact same path, and she knows the lay of the land. She also knows if she has a pothole in front of her, I will yell the key word "hole, hole" and she adjusts her direction.

It is indeed so sad to see an animal disabled, but it is truly inspiring to observe them to learn to make adjustments that allow them to continue to lead a "normal" life. Those that do this serve as wonderful examples to us humans.

Sam

[trailmonkee]

6. +1000 What a nice story Sam!!! even better than the video - thanks

your dog cheyenne sounds wonderful

[kysrsoze]

7. Very cool. Dogs are such wonderful creatures and you've got a great one.

[defacto7]

9. Beautiful story!

Thank you so much. I have great affection for dogs. I sometimes wish humans were half as resourceful.

[backscatter712]

8. My mom and dad have a blind pug.

Gus seems to navigate these days with his nose.

[defacto7]

10. Border Collies have hearing that's hard to realize.

They can hear for literally miles depending on the background, that's their job in the field. I have a Flat Coat Retriever that can hear when my wife is driving home. When she is about 8 blocks away and around a corner, he gets up and waits at the door till she drives up. You can rely on him to let you know when she is a couple of minutes away. Its urban here and a lot of traffic and he knows the difference between our car and all the other cars. It's pretty amazing.

[TexasBushwhacker]

11. Oskar the Blind Kitten

This little guy was born without eyes so he doesn't know what he's missing. It doesn't seem to slow him down. There are several videos of him.

[intheflow]

12. Cool story but report was poorly written.

End line (paraphrase): "Chic doesn't need eyes, she sees with her heart."

Uh, no she doesn't. She navigates through some method - probably a combination of smell and hearing - but it sure as hell in no way involves "hearing" with her heart. Neither her physical heart nor some kind of spiritual metaphor. Why not just end the report by saying angels have possessed this dog to perform supernatural acts of wonder and mystery? Geesh.