Despite losing both her eyes and now waiting for her third home, beautiful Shih Tzu Tallula has never given up hope.

Little Tallula started life as a normal, healthy dog, with a loving family. Sadly when she was just two years old she developed infections in both of her eyes. The family took Tallula straight to the vets to get treatment, but unfortunately the veterinary medicine had no effect, and the infections developed into severe ulcers.

The vets and Tallula’s family had to make the hard decision to remove her eyes, as they were not responding to treatment and it was the kindest thing to do considering that she would have been in a lot of pain and discomfort.

This brave girl’s world was turned upside down and she had to begin adjusting to a new life being blind.

Tallula took each day in her stride and has never let being blind prevent her from living life to the full like other dogs.

When Tallula was about eight years old her owners decided to rehome her with a family friend. Sadly Tallula had only been with her new owners for seven months when they decided to bring her into The Mayhew for adoption.

The owners had started off with good intentions, however when their son brought home a new puppy they were worried that they would not be able to cope, and decided to rehome Tallula. The owners thought that because Tallula would occasionally have toilet accidents at night, they would not be able to train the new puppy with her around, and Tallula was put up for adoption for her third home.

Since coming into our Home, our staff have fallen in love with Tallula and we are confident that this brave girl will finally get the forever home that she so deserves.

Despite her setbacks in life, this hasn’t stopped Tallula from being a happy, confident and loving dog who will make a great companion.

With her playful and energetic nature, you would not think at first that Tallula was blind. This gorgeous girl has so much character; she loves playing with her toys, snores like a trooper and will even chat back to you if you talk to her.

Our Dog Adoption Officer, Lisa Guiney, said: “Tallula is a lovely little girl, who is so confident and doesn’t let her blindness affect her in the slightest.”

“Blind dogs can absolutely live happy and fulfilling lives, and they can still do all the other things that dogs with vision can do including playing with toys, going for off-the-lead walks and managing staircases. With blind dogs their other senses tend to become heightened as they will start to rely on their hearing and scent more.”

Lisa continued: “To help a blind dog settle in to a new home it’s important to remember not to move furniture around as the dog will learn the room layouts, and not to leave clutter on the floors which they could walk into. You should keep their bed, food and water bowls in the same place so the dog knows where to find them, and make sure people don’t approach the dog suddenly as this will startle them.”

“It’s also a great idea to teach a blind dog the “step up”, “step down” and “careful” commands, which is easily done by just saying the word anytime they come across steps. You should say the word “careful” whenever they are in a new environment and are about to bump into something.”

Rehoming a blind dog like Tallula can be an incredibly rewarding experience and we know that her perfect family is out there somewhere.

If you’d like to give Tallula a loving forever home then find out more about her here or give us a call on 020 8962 8000.

If you are not ready to adopt, please consider a donation to help us look after and rehome more special dogs like Tallula.

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