CLEVELAND — We have a happy ending to the "tail" of a blind pup named Snickers. We featured him back in May as he worked with his certified professional dog trainer / foster mom to learn skills that would help him in life.
Snickers' previous owner surrendered him to a shelter late last year when he was only a few months old. An adorable "wiggle worm" the pitty-mix was deemed "unadoptable" by the shelter, as it quickly became apparent he was blind. It's not known what caused the pup's blindness, whether genetic or from some injury. What was certain is that Snickers needed an a guardian angel to intervene. Thankfully, there was one volunteering that day.
"One of our awesome volunteers from One At A Time Rescue also works there and called one of the directors of the rescue and said, 'Hey, we've got this puppy. He's awesome but he's blind. They're going to put him down today. Can we help?' So they picked him up that day," said Megan Wessels, who was Snickers' foster mom for many months. Wessels is also a CPT, who operates Mission Ready Retrievers. Snickers would be Wessel's first blind dog she had trained.
"I got him here and I don't think he knows he's blind," said Wessels when we visited with her last May.
We shared Snickers' story on Ready Pet GO! to show all the work he and Wessels had done. He is one smart dog, picking up verbal commands quickly, while earning his AKC Good Citizen and Trick Dog titles.
We kept our fingers (and paws) crossed that after our story aired, someone would reach out and adopt Snickers. It didn't happen right away. But then again, Snickers needed just the right family.
"A friend and client of ours had found him online and she was considering adopting him," said Olive Faulkner, who along with her husband, Sean, own and operate the The Gentle Vet, a certified fear free veterinary practice in Bath, Ohio.
Faulkner's friend did a trial with Snickers, but their other dog is dealing with a number of health issues. Although they had nothing but good things to say about Snickers, ultimately the timing wasn't right. That's when the Faulkners jumped at the chance to fill out an application.
"She told me about him and of course, I'm a bleeding heart and a sucker for Pit Bulls, especially special needs," Faulkner said.
Wessels says she couldn't have asked for a better situation for Snickers.
"When their friend and client had applied, it was a phenomenal home and we thought he hit the jackpot, but we totally understood," Wessels said. "We don't want any dog placed with someone who is uncomfortable for any reason. So when we got Olivia's application, I believe the conversation was, 'Is this even a real application? This is perfect.'"
We checked in with Faulkner and Wessels by Zoom, giving us a glimpse at Snickers and his new digs. It's clear he's made himself at home.
"He manages very well," Faulkner said. "He learned immediately the layout of our house and learned the layout of the back yard really quickly, too. (Being blind) doesn't seem to cause him any stress or anxiety."
Another change that is happened -- Snickers is now "Healey." And just as he has with everything else so far, the pup has seemingly taken this change in stride.
"He's just the sweetest, most adaptable dog, and I couldn't have asked for a better personality to join our crew," Faulkner said.
"We couldn't have planned for a better ending for him. This is absolutely perfect," added Wessels.