Shep the blind German Shepherd
Shep is no doubt the most "exotic" of the animals who have come to the ranch – in his case, all the way from Afghanistan!
We were contacted in March, 2008, by the Afghan Stray Animal League, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that works to help homeless animals in Kabul, Afghanistan, by supporting a small shelter there. The shelter had taken in a blind Shepherd puppy, an animal that stood no chance of adoption. They had named him Shep.
Afghan culture doesn't have much of a concept of "pets" or companion animals – not unexpected in a country with such grinding poverty and bloodshed – so the shelter mostly adopts animals to foreigners living in Afghanistan. Other cultural norms make Afghanistan a rough place to be an animal … especially a weak or disabled one.
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It took a couple of months to work out the travel logistics, but an American who works with the Afghan shelter flew Shep from Kabul to Islamabad, Pakistan, and on to JFK Airport in New York. After spending the weekend at a veterinary boarding facility at JFK, we flew Shep out to Montana. He arrived in Helena on May 27 at 11 p.m. on a Northwest Airlines flight. After a potty break outside the Helena airport, Steve loaded his crate in the bed of the truck and put Shep in the big back seat. He sat there quietly for the entire drive back to the ranch, and they got home about 1 a.m.
His first day in Montana had beautiful spring weather, and after days of traveling and being in kennels and crates, Shep enjoyed spending the day outside, soaking up some Rocky Mountain sunshine.
During his medical and eye exams with our vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, she learned that Shep was blind from a retinal deficiency, including a malformed optic nerve. (See our blog post about his eye exam here.)
We also learned he's not really a puppy. Chronic malnutrition had stunted his growth, so we call him a "pocket Shepherd." You could also say he's an Afghan hound. Sort of.
He turned out to be a very sweet and affectionate boy, and he got along very well with all the other dogs. Shep soon settled into the routine at the ranch. He gained much needed weight, and his once rough coat turned sleek and shiny.
But then, in late October, 2008, Shep's life changed once more. And what a change it was! Shep was adopted by a wonderful couple in northern Idaho who had earlier adopted another of our disabled German Shepherds. Shep had just won the doggie lottery!
Read our blog post about his adoption here.
November 2008
