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Blind Devotion: Enhancing the Lives of Blind and Visually Impaired Dogs
For millions of people their pet is a beloved member of the family. For these people the loss of a pet’s vision can be especially difficult. Blind Devotion is a book these people can turn to. The author connects with her audience by sharing a touching, warm story of her own blind pug dog. Cathy Symons uses her vast experience as a veterinary technician and canine rehabilitation practitioner to offer advice on caring for a blind dog and enhancing their lives through environmental enrichment vital to maintaining a joyful life. Ms. Symons educates the reader on what it means to be blind, how to keep your pet safe, how to stimulate other senses, making life enjoyable for your pet and developing new commands. The author also discusses difficult topics such as quality of life, commitment, anxiety, enucleation, and addressing owner emotions. By sharing her story the author offers reassurance and guidance, shares ideas, and gives hope. Blind Devotion Enhancing the Lives of Blind and Visually Impaired Dogs is also available as a video download. Search Amazon Videos for Blind Devotion.
228 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 2012
77 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 8, 2017
Full of good advice and resources
Hopefully you will never need to read a book like this, but if your dog is blind or losing vision, this is full of useful information. While there is a lot of information on the Internet for free, I found it very helpful to have everything I need to know organized in one place. Also, Cathy Symons is a certified vet tech and a certified canine rehab practitioner. I feel better knowing that I am reading material from someone with training and experience.
The book contains both technical medical and anatomical information as well as a lot of practical advice. The writing style is straightforward. She tends to repeat information, especially in the first chapter about eye anatomy. This is helpful, particularly if you are unfamiliar with how eyes work. The tone of the book is upbeat and positive while still acknowledging that there will be worry and frustrations. Ms. Symons' writes the book from a personal perspective as her pug Booda lost his vision. There are a lot of stories and pictures of Booda. There is a rather lengthy prologue that is all about Booda's life. I did not care for that part as I wanted to get to the information and advice, so I quickly skimmed it. The author also includes a lot of outside resources, websites, and products. Since I purchased the Kindle addition, the links are right in the book. There is a thoughtful section toward the end of the book about quality of life issues and euthanasia. While this is not necessary for an otherwise healthy blind dog, she provides some useful things to consider when and if you find yourself needing to make a heartbreaking decision.
I purchased this book primarily for the information on helping my blind dog to live a safe and happy life. The chapters on commands and on assessing your house and yard for safety were very helpful. There is good advice about how to help your dog develop his mental map of your house and how to keep him safe in public. I am very happy with this purchase and recommend it as a good resource. I gave it 4 stars because I would have been most happy with a book that contained less personal information.
Hopefully you will never need to read a book like this, but if your dog is blind or losing vision, this is full of useful information. While there is a lot of information on the Internet for free, I found it very helpful to have everything I need to know organized in one place. Also, Cathy Symons is a certified vet tech and a certified canine rehab practitioner. I feel better knowing that I am reading material from someone with training and experience.
The book contains both technical medical and anatomical information as well as a lot of practical advice. The writing style is straightforward. She tends to repeat information, especially in the first chapter about eye anatomy. This is helpful, particularly if you are unfamiliar with how eyes work. The tone of the book is upbeat and positive while still acknowledging that there will be worry and frustrations. Ms. Symons' writes the book from a personal perspective as her pug Booda lost his vision. There are a lot of stories and pictures of Booda. There is a rather lengthy prologue that is all about Booda's life. I did not care for that part as I wanted to get to the information and advice, so I quickly skimmed it. The author also includes a lot of outside resources, websites, and products. Since I purchased the Kindle addition, the links are right in the book. There is a thoughtful section toward the end of the book about quality of life issues and euthanasia. While this is not necessary for an otherwise healthy blind dog, she provides some useful things to consider when and if you find yourself needing to make a heartbreaking decision.
I purchased this book primarily for the information on helping my blind dog to live a safe and happy life. The chapters on commands and on assessing your house and yard for safety were very helpful. There is good advice about how to help your dog develop his mental map of your house and how to keep him safe in public. I am very happy with this purchase and recommend it as a good resource. I gave it 4 stars because I would have been most happy with a book that contained less personal information.
April 6, 2018
The most current and up to date book on living with a blind or site-impaired dog. The author is experienced, compassionate, educated and truly cares about improving the lives of blind dogs. There is a thorough explanation of eye anatomy and the book includes training tips, quality of life tips and how to implement social interaction. It’s very clear that the author’s goal is to improve site impaired dog’s quality of life through enrichment and environment. The author also shares her personal experience with adopting and living with a blind dog, in a compassionate and honest voice. I highly recommend this book! I also recommend her children’s book (on the same topic) called, “Watching Out for Digger” Adorable and great for the little ones!
October 6, 2017
Someone on the street recommended this book to me, or maybe other books like this that are out there--apparently there are quite a few on having a blind dog. I liked this one because the author, like me, has a blind pug. She has some good suggestions, but mostly I was impressed by her "blind devotion"--really devoted to making sure her pug was happy and still enjoying life. I also enjoyed the GIANT PRINT which made me feel like I was a fast reader...You could probably get much of this info. in an article, or online, but I liked reading the extended story of her relationship with her pug because....well, you know me....
October 5, 2020
3.5/5*
I purchased this book because my dog went blind overnight a few weeks ago. Despite many tests, the ophthalmologist and neurologist are still unsure what caused it. We are continuing the investigation, but regardless of the final diagnosis, my 9-year-old dachshund will be blind for the rest of her life.
The topics explored in Blind Devotion were very valuable to me as an owner of a newly blind dog. I learned a lot and I am going to use many of her ideas to care for my newly blind dog. The section on enrichment, where she discussed scent work and other games, was particularly enlightening. I also enjoyed reading about the author’s experiences with her own blind dogs.
So, why the 3.5 star rating? There were many mistakes in grammar and formatting that were distracting — punctuation in particular. There were also multiple sections where extremely similar sentences were used back-to-back. A few more rounds of proof reading would have significantly improved the book, moving my rating to a solid 4 stars.
Regardless of the mistakes and repetition, I’m glad I read the book. The author’s personal and professional experience working with, and caring for, blind dogs was evident throughout the text.
I have a few more books lined up to learn more about my blind dog, including Living with Blind Dogs: A Resource Book and Training Guide for the Owners of Blind and Low-vision Dogs by Caroline D. Levin and My Dog is Blind...But Lives Life to the Full by Nicole Horsky. I’m curious how Blind Devotion will stack up against them.
I purchased this book because my dog went blind overnight a few weeks ago. Despite many tests, the ophthalmologist and neurologist are still unsure what caused it. We are continuing the investigation, but regardless of the final diagnosis, my 9-year-old dachshund will be blind for the rest of her life.
The topics explored in Blind Devotion were very valuable to me as an owner of a newly blind dog. I learned a lot and I am going to use many of her ideas to care for my newly blind dog. The section on enrichment, where she discussed scent work and other games, was particularly enlightening. I also enjoyed reading about the author’s experiences with her own blind dogs.
So, why the 3.5 star rating? There were many mistakes in grammar and formatting that were distracting — punctuation in particular. There were also multiple sections where extremely similar sentences were used back-to-back. A few more rounds of proof reading would have significantly improved the book, moving my rating to a solid 4 stars.
Regardless of the mistakes and repetition, I’m glad I read the book. The author’s personal and professional experience working with, and caring for, blind dogs was evident throughout the text.
I have a few more books lined up to learn more about my blind dog, including Living with Blind Dogs: A Resource Book and Training Guide for the Owners of Blind and Low-vision Dogs by Caroline D. Levin and My Dog is Blind...But Lives Life to the Full by Nicole Horsky. I’m curious how Blind Devotion will stack up against them.
March 1, 2019
I really got nothing new out of this book. But I've also read many dog training and behavior books over the years. I was already familiar with the suggestions related to blindness. Maybe if this is the first book of its kind you grab, it will be very useful. But for me in particular it didn't do much.
December 30, 2018
This book is very helpful
Our dog has become blind as a result of blastomycosis (a fungal infection dogs get from sniffing the dirt). This book is helping us navigate our new reality. Thanks so much!
Our dog has become blind as a result of blastomycosis (a fungal infection dogs get from sniffing the dirt). This book is helping us navigate our new reality. Thanks so much!
April 1, 2021
A slow start but as usual, King builds a story detail by detail. The first part is focused on a "retired" (sounds like burned out and quit) police officer traveling north form Florida. He basically has no plans but is just heading north. He ends up working in a tiny town in South Carolina working a "Night Knocker", walking the town and checking on the local businesses, without any real police appointment. The next section starts out getting to know a prodigy 12 year old who is in process of deciding on going to 2 colleges at the same time. Then tragedy strikes, he is kidnapped and, well, now you just have to read it. Do not forget part 1 because it comes full circle towards the end of the book.
In usual Stephen King flare, the story includes some bad guys (the kidnappers) and good guys (who have unknown as of yet ESP abilities).
The story speed up about half way through and becomes a true page turner. If you like most of Stephen King in the last decade, this is one of his better works.
In usual Stephen King flare, the story includes some bad guys (the kidnappers) and good guys (who have unknown as of yet ESP abilities).
The story speed up about half way through and becomes a true page turner. If you like most of Stephen King in the last decade, this is one of his better works.
February 18, 2022
The author provides some good information, tips and resources about blind/sight impaired dogs in this book. Would recommend for anyone whose dog may be going blind who wants to learn more about how blind dogs can not only live but thrive. 🐶🐕🦮🐩🐕🦺🐾
April 18, 2020
Uneven
The author showed compassion for blind dogs, including her own. I thought the book should have the science first and then the practical.
The author showed compassion for blind dogs, including her own. I thought the book should have the science first and then the practical.
December 5, 2025
Excellent and helpful information. It could really use more editing as there were quite a few typos throughout.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews