ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Blind Golden Retriever Gets A Puppy To Help Him Navigate The World

Blind Golden Retriever Gets A Puppy To Help Him Navigate The World

Tao started losing his sight last year and Oko has been showing him how to safely get around.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

A golden retriever has been given a seeing eye puppy to help him navigate the world after losing his sight.

Tao grabbed headlines around the world earlier this year when it was revealed that instead of a seeing dog helping a blind person, it was the other way around.

In the months since, the beautiful dog has been gifted an equally beautiful puppy that has been helping him around his surroundings.

Oko has been featuring on Tao's instagram, which boasts more than 13,200 followers.

The two are regularly seen on walks together, with Oko taking Tao's lead and letting him walk about safely.

People are understandably besotted with the new arrival and they comment in their droves whenever a new picture gets uploaded.

Tao had to have both his eyes removed separately due to glaucoma. The adaptable ten-year-old made incredible progress after surgery, with owner Melanie Jackson - known as Mel - calling her pet 'amazing'.

Mel says she was first alerted to a problem with Tao's eyesight last year when he appeared to be in pain.

She took her dog to the vet, who told her he had glaucoma and the decision was made to operate and the remove the eye.

Sadly, 11 months later, his second eye also had to be removed.

Mel said: "Glaucoma is the build-up of fluid in the eye - it's got nowhere to drain away. If you can imagine a migraine and times it by a hundred - that was the pain he was in.

"It began in February 2019 - we had a normal morning. Everything was absolutely fine. But you just know when the dog is not his normal self. By the night, he was in the most pain I have ever seen so we took him to the vets.

"He was scratching his face. I said: 'You are going to think I'm mad - but Tao has lost his sight'.

"The pressure was so high in his eye. We didn't have any other choice but to have the eye removed.

Mel now wants to raise awareness of glaucoma in dogs in hopes of preventing other pets from suffering.

She said: "People who are going to buy puppies - ask the question. It's taken an immense amount of time and training to get him to this point."

Mel has worked with The Kennel Club, who used Tao's DNA 'marker' to help identify other dogs prone to glaucoma - a preventable condition if diagnosed early enough.

Featured Image Credit: tao_mr_winky/Instagram

Topics: News, Animals