We’re pretty used to the idea of people with visual impairments needing a helpful service dog to navigate, but what about dogs that can’t see?
It may seem crazy, but a golden retriever in South Carolina now has a seeing eye dog of his own.
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Charlie is an 11-year-old goldie who has been part of Adam Stipe’s family since he was a puppy.
In 2016, Charlie developed glaucoma in his left eye. It was causing him a lot of pain, so his family had the eye removed.
Unfortunately, the other eye needed to come out a year later.
“For us it was a no-brainer, empty our retirement plan to care for this dog because he makes us happy,” Adam’s wife Chelsea told NBC10.
Charlie seemed to adjust okay, still playing and enjoying his walks.
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Adam were expecting a baby and they both thought it would be great to bring a new puppy into the home too.
So on New Year’s Day 2019, they welcomed Maverick.
He wasn’t meant to be a service dog for Charlie. In fact, the older dog wasn’t quite taken with him at first.
But Maverick won him over and quickly realized there was something different about Charlie.
He noticed that sometimes Charlie would lose track of a toy while they played.
Without any human guidance, Maverick began bringing the toy back to Charlie so that they could keep playing.
On walks, Maverick stays right by Charlie’s side.
“They almost turn into little sled dogs where they’ll walk together,” said Chelsea.
Having walked puppies before, that’s a miracle. Maverick clearly cares.
They submitted a few photos to WeRateDogs and got a coveted 14/10.
The response was so incredible that they started their own Instagram account for the doggos and in only five days, they’ve already got almost 75,000 followers.
And of course, the new baby Stripe has since joined the family too.
I certainly clicked on that Follow button and can’t wait to see what adventures Charlie and Maverick get up to in the future.
h/t: NBC10
