Life is looking better for Dodger
Remember this video, from a story we told you about back in October? On his balcony in Lincolnshire, a British man was videotaped as he beat his dog. After the video was posted on Facebook, an angry mob formed outside his house.
The man survived the mob, and the dog survived the man.
The Staffordshire bull terrier was seized by authorities, and turned out to be blind and deaf, making the behavior of his owner, Jonathan Bloomfield, 37, all the more repugnant.
Bloomfield avoided a prison sentence, but magistrates in Grimsby banned him from having a dog for 15 years.
Whatever happened to the dog? A lot, and it’s all good.
Butch, as he was previously known, was taken in by the RSPCA, where he was renamed Dodger. The RSPCA, after realizing he was deaf and almost totally blind, contacted specialists at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket to see if there was any chance that the 18-month-old dog’s sight could be restored.
“Dodger is the most adorable dog,” Claudia Hartley, the AHT’s head of small animal ophthalmology explained. “As soon as he arrived I fell in love with him and it wasn’t long before he’d work his charm on the rest of the vets and nurses here.”
Both his deafness and his blindness are believed to be congential. Dodger was apparently born with cataracts — something that, unlike his deafness, could be repaired. The AHT’s vets performed cataract surgery on Dodger’s right eye, with good results.
Dodger returned to the AHT last month to have his left-eye operated on and initial signs are very good, according to the East Anglian Daily Times.
The RSPCA has started the process of looking for a new home for Dodger.
“Although Dodger can now see, he is still completely deaf, and he’ll need a special owner who can understand his very specific needs,” said Kirstyn Gaunt, deputy manager at the RSPCA Block Fen Animal Centre, where he is now housed. “He has started to take on some basic sign language and he is a fast learner.”
Given the happy ending, we’ll end this post with a happier video:
Posted by jwoestendiek March 13th, 2012 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: abused, adoptable, adoption, animal cruelty, animal health trust, animal welfare, animals, beaten, blind, britain, butch, cataracts, congenital, cruelty to animals, deaf, dodger, dog, dogs, england, eyesight, facebook, grimsby, jonathan bloomfield, lincolnshire, mob, pets, recovery, rescue, restored, rspca, shelter, sight, staffordshire bull terrier, surgery, uk, video
Comments
Comment from Anne’n'Spencer
Time March 13, 2012 at 9:47 am
If it’s any consolation to Dodger, an elderly cousin had a Pekingese when I was a child. Woo was profoundly, congenitally deaf. (Dog’s name was Woo Fing, but let’s not get into that.) She actually led a long and happy life. You could call her in the house by tapping your foot on the floor. She seemed to rely on her other doggie senses, but particularly her sense of smell. Her only restriction was that she could never be off leash when she was outside. (No dog parks in those Dark Ages.) I’m certain that Dodger will live a long, happy, and fulfilled life once he’s matched up with the right human partner. And he obviously has a lot to give.
Comment from vida
Time March 14, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Love a happy ending, now all he needs is a warm home and he’ll be fine.
Comment from anon
Time March 13, 2012 at 8:59 am
He is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful….. In video his ears perk up as if responding to sound. Just sight reflexive?
Stupid, ugly. ugly, stupid abuser.