Beating Natural Selection: How Two Dogs Worked Together to Overcome a Genetic Mishap

Published on January 27, 2009 by Sean O'Meara   ·   1 Comment

Nature wasn’t kind to Bing, a puppy born deaf, almost completely blind and very weak. Bing was born pure white – an ominous sign of the genetic problems he was to suffer in life. Perhaps the cruelest part of Bing’s story to date, is that when putting his limitations aside, he is almost a typical Border Collie. Sean O’Meara finds out more.

Being a Border Collie, one of the most intelligent and mentally agile breeds in the world, Bing has strong herding instincts and loves to work, but he can’t act on those impulses, which makes him visibly upset.

When Bing gets upset, what limited vision he has becomes temporarily removed due to bleeding in his eye. But Bing’s story isn’t one of pity and sadness, he’s got a very dedicated and committed helper who understands his unique needs and struggles. Without the help of his carer Darry, Bing’s life would be one big struggle after the next.

“We saw Bing was looking for a home on a website (many tears rescue), so the first stage was for someone to come out and see if our house was suitable, they only wanted to re-home Bing with a family that had another dog.” Explained Clorissa Paul, Bing’s new owner.

“A few days after the inspection we drove to Llanelli in Wales. We had to take our dog Darry with us to see if he and Bing would get on. My partner and I fell in love with Bing as soon as we saw him. Darry didn’t pay any attention to him, which was good enough for us. Bing was laying outside, asleep in the sun. We all walked over to the little white fluffy puppy but we couldn’t wake him and realised he was one hundred percent deaf. To wake him we have to either shake him quite hard or make a shadow over his face.”

With Darry’s apparent approval, Clorissa was given the go ahead to take Bing home to start his new life. But the relationship between Darry and Bing didn’t blossom immediately.

“When we got home Darry sniffed Bing all over for hours and kept looking at me as if to say ‘what is going on?’ The next day when Darry realized Bing was still here again he looked at me to say ‘when is he going home?’ Two days later Darry was looking for Bing as soon as he woke up. Five days later they were and are still inseparable. Bing was originally in kennels with lots of other dogs and cats, so he was very used to other animals. The first time he saw Darry we could all tell that he loved him. He would follow him everywhere with an expression on his face that said ‘what are we going to do now? What else are you going to show me?’”

Clorissa knew that caring for Bing would bring with a set of unique challenges, but she wasn’t prepared for just how important Darry would be in helping Bing along.

“Darry has helped Bing in more ways than we will ever realise. In our garden we have a patio and grass. Bing had never been on grass before, as his previous garden had no grass just slabs. So obviously when Bing did go to the toilet, he would do it on the patio. But within one day Darry taught him to go on the grass which he has done ever since. Darry has taught Bing how to behave in the kitchen too. For example, he showed Bing to sit when we are making food in the kitchen, because at first Bing would jump up and just try and take any food he could smell. When I call the dogs in from the garden if Bing sees Darry running in he will follow, but if it is dark or he is not looking the right way then obviously Bing is still in the garden and Darry will come in. If that is the case I say to Darry “Go and get Bing, where’s Bing?” and Darry will go back outside, touch Bing and then they both come running in.

A few weeks ago my partner had been shopping and had bought a cooked chicken for himself and the dogs. Bing was outside but Darry was in the kitchen. As soon as my boyfriend got the chicken out and started cutting bits off Darry ran off. We were both very confused as Darry will do anything for chicken and always sits as soon as he can smell it. We watched Darry run into the garden and it was almost as if he said “Bing there is chicken in the kitchen, quick come in” they both ran in as fast as they could and then both sat ready. We could not believe our eyes as we thought Darry would only be too glad Bing wasn’t there as that would mean more chicken for him.”

Darry’s influence on Bing didn’t stop at getting his friend involved in the kitchen. Dogs with severe disabilities are often unable to develop the skills needed for domestic life and in many cases require in depth training in order to complete very simple tasks. In Bing’s case, his training came on the job by watching Darry in action.

“We always thought that when a dog was wet, it would instinctively shake to dry itself but Bing never would. He could be so wet, water would be dripping off him and he would just stand there. But one day when they were out in the garden in the rain, Darry came to the back door with Bing and as normal Darry shook himself. Bing tilted his head and we could see he was thinking and then to our surprise he shook himself a little. Now Bing knows exactly what to do to dry himself. “

Bing’s inability to see and hear makes it difficult for him to interact with new dogs. He cannot pick up on body language, which is the main way dogs communicate, so he often finds himself struggling to make new friends.

“About ninety percent of dogs that see Bing are either frightened of him or want to kill him. He was attacked by another dog the first day I had him. A very irresponsible dog owner did not put their dog on a lead and when they saw it attacking Bing they ran off. I then realised how lucky I was that Darry was not like all the other dogs as he loves Bing so much and now couldn’t be without him. Bing needs another dog to show him dog things and to play dog games. He still wants cuddles but as there are two of us, the dogs can have as much affection as they want. Bing was taken away from his mother and siblings at six weeks old, so he missed out on lots of things which Darry is now teaching him. He needs another dog to hear and see for him when humans try to communicate. Dogs can communicate with each other without sound, so I tell Darry and Darry tells Bing.”

Despite his remarkably positive and happy temperament, Bing faces new challenges every day and it takes a lot of effort from everyone in involved in caring for him to ensure that he is comfortable and safe.

“He has learnt where everything is in the house now, so we try not to move anything unless we absolutely have to. Bing does not like the car, having a lead on him or being walked. Everyday we show him his lead and he gets biscuits and some days we put his lead on him and walk him to the kitchen and that’s it. He feels that wearing a lead means he has no choices and going outside for a walk is too much, too many smells, too much to take in and too much to worry about. When he is calm his eye sight is about ten percent effective, but when he is stressed it is almost like he is totally blind. You can not walk him, steer him in a direction or get through to him. When he gets stressed he sometimes has bleeding behind his eye. The vet’s think he has a blood clotting disorder. When this happens he goes totally blind for about two days. His personality changes. He walks slow, doesn’t join in and just looks sad. We have been told that if he keeps having bleeding behind his eye eventually he will loose his sight forever. We spend all of our time trying to make him calm and relaxed so hopefully he will have his ten percent vision all his life.”

Bing’s physical problems are the result of poor breeding. Whilst Bing manages to make the most of his situation with the help of Darry, it is regrettable that he was born in the state that he was. Clorissa sees the positive side of Bing’s situation, but is very aware that Bing’s problems could have been avoided.

“I have been told by most vets that puppies that are not developed correctly usually don’t survive birth. But if they do the mother will not feed them and they will die. Or the breeders will take the sick puppy to the vets to be euthanized. Bing is a miracle and is lucky to be alive. Some might say ‘is it fair?’ but Bing has a life, a very happy life. He is not suffering and is not in any pain. He doesn’t know that he can’t hear or can’t se, it is all he has ever known. ‘Should Bing have been put down?’ If you know the puppy is not suffering and you can find it a home then fine. But otherwise no, euthanasia would have been best as no animal should ever suffer. ‘Did Bing’s breeders do the right thing by Bing?’ In this case I think they did but they must never breed from the same two dogs again.”

There is no ‘owner’s guide to caring for a blind and deaf pup’, so Clorissa is learning as she goes along. She knows Bing will never see, but with the help of family, friends and Darry, she is finding ways to make Bing happy.

“We buy toys that we know he can see. They either have to be bright in colour or large in size. Being a border collie he loves playing with balls, but spends such a long time trying to find them he often just gives in. We have bought him a ball that changes colour and he can see that like a normal dog. We can roll it and he knows exactly where it is. We have taken him to an eye specialist to see if they could improve Bing’s sight in anyway and sadly they can’t, but at least now we know. There are many more things that Bing needs so we have had a bazaar to raise money for him. He does cost a lot of money, so I will organise more events for him as the last fundraiser generated enough money for a dog trainer. He still needs to go to a hearing specialist, hydrotherapy lessons for his back legs and we need to find a groomer. So if anyone wants to help Bing, he wouldn’t say no.”

Instinct is important to any dog and Bing is no different. His blindness and deafness have forced Bing to adapt, but in many ways his confidence and curiosity belies his limitations.

“The first time we saw Bing I said to his foster carer ‘Are you sure he is deaf and blind?’ I expected him to be very slow and deliberate and not running round like a mad thing. I also never expected him to pull on the lead, again I thought he would walk by my side as he wouldn’t know where he was going. But he pulls like a train. With Bing it is trial and error, he will run and if he runs into something, he picks himself up and thinks ‘ok now I know there is something there.’ We try so hard but we can’t always keep up with him. We obviously don’t want him running into things but can’t always stop him. He is just like any other life loving little dog, sometimes he get cuts and bruises, but not very often. He is very limp and when he does run into something he just ends up in a little heap on the floor, so as yet has never really hurt himself.

He wants to learn and be as normal as Darry. If he could talk he would say ‘I can do it, watch me everyone, see I am a good boy, what’s next to do, what can you teach me now?’ He has a very active brain and from the second he wakes up he runs, he has no idea where, but just runs, wags his tail and says ‘right what have a missed?’”

To find out more about Bing and Darry visit www.bing2007.wetpaint.com

---

This article appears in K9 Magazine Issue no 23

Also featuring…
+ World’s Healthiest Dog
+ What’s Wrong With Dogs?
+ How to Think Like a Dog
+ 7 Best Canine Inventions
+ 12 Tips for Dog Happiness

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO K9 MAGAZINE

Highly Recommended: This could be the most important link you EVER click as far as your dog’s life is concerned – see why….!