Caring For Visually-Impaired Dogs
With Ease
Dogs with special needs are often surrendered or seen as not adoptable because it requires time and attention that many cannot afford. This episode will dispel the myths around having a special needs dog, and how they are very much adoptable. Today's guest is Cathy Symons, an author, a veterinary technician, and certified canine rehabilitation practitioner from Massachusetts who is an advocate for blind and visually impaired dogs.
BIO:
Cathy Symons wrote Blind Devotion: Enhancing the lives of Blind and Visually Impaired Dogs after her first dog, Booda, lost his sight at 7 years old. In it, Cathy uses her experience as a veterinary technician and canine rehabilitation practitioner to offer advice on caring for a blind dog. Cathy educates the reader on what it means to be blind, how to keep your pet safe, stimulating other senses, making life enjoyable for your pet and developing new commands. She also discusses difficult topics such as quality of life, commitment, anxiety, enucleation, and addressing owner emotions.
Several years later, Cathy adopted another blind pug named Digger and wrote a children’s book Watching Out for Digger, which she uses as a teaching tool for young children to learn about living with a disabled dog.
After fifteen years of practice as a vet tech, Cathy went on to study canine rehabilitation at the University of Tennessee. In 2003 Cathy was one of the first of thirty-six people in the country to become a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner.
Shortly after obtaining her CCRP Ms. Symons was instrumental in establishing the first veterinary rehabilitation center in Massachusetts and continues to follow the latest options in rehabilitation including Digital Thermal Imaging and Laser Therapy.
Cathy has devoted her life to being an advocate for physically and sensory impaired dogs.