Lovey's Story

Just  like any other day in Theresa's life she was on Petfinder.com checking out the dogs in the rural animal shelters. One day Theresa stumbled onto a page that portrayed a picture of a black and white speckled pointer mix dog. What struck Theresa was that this dog was blind and had come from a meth lab in Southern Illinois.  The dog, now named Lovey, had been found by authorities in an abandoned meth house. Something about Lovey tugged at Theresa's heartstrings. Not being able to concentrate on anything but Lovey Theresa called the animal control facility that Lovey was at.  Theresa was informed that all the dogs at that facility were going to be put down due to an outbreak of Parvo but that they would quarantine Lovey and wait on this dog if she wanted it. Theresa got busy trying to find a way to get Lovey to Partners for Pets. Sue, another volunteer, said her husband would be willing to drive the distance to get the blind dog. And so he did.

Hours later Lovey was in the care of Partners for Pets. She was a little tense upon arrival but didn't act afraid. She was pretty calm and didn't move much. It was apparent that Lovey was completely blind. 

After Lovey's quarantine and her escape from parvo, she stayed at Lisa's house for a while to be evaluated.  Lovey could maneuver her way around the yard just fine and only had a couple of light bumps running into things in the house.  She would follow the other dogs and keep her nose to the ground as she moved. Lovey learned her surroundings quickly and even took to playing with the other dogs.  Lovey learned quickly how to go up and down the stairs and would follow a voice around the house. Lovey loves being with people.

Lovey soon took a trip to Horseshoe Lake Animal Hospital to see Dr. Randla.  Lovey received a clean bill of health except for the blindness. Dr. Randla found that the eyes were working and even reacting to light but there had been nerve damage and she could not get the images to her brain. There was no external damage and it could have resulted due to the meth. Dr. Randla told Lisa that the people that make the illegal meth inject the animals with the drug to see how it affects the dog and then adjusts the recipe based on the reaction.  Basically the animals are used as guinea pigs by the meth makers.  But Dr. Randla assured Lisa that except for the blindness, Lovey doesn't seem to have any other problems that he could see.

As for the fate of Lovey and her rescuer...Lovey is now staying with Theresa.  She just couldn't get Lovey off of her mind and Theresa's determination got her to Partners for Pets. Lovey is now enjoying being a real dog and playing with her foster brothers instead of being a guinea pig. Apparently Lovey's last "experiment" was the best one of her life.