Meet Lizzie, our sweet senior Yorkshire Terrier. At 16 years old (and counting), Lizzie has sadly developed cataracts over the last few years, leaving her completely blind. Not only this, she is also partially deaf and can only hear loud noises.
We knew that this would be a side effect of her age, but that didn’t deter us from welcoming her into our home!
My partner and I were new to owning a blind and deaf dog when we first got Lizzie, so it took us a few weeks to figure out how to make our home safe for a blind dog.
She rubs herself against furniture and sniffs everything to understand where she needs to go, so we spent a lot of time creating padded barriers to prevent her from injuring herself.
Despite not having her sense of sight or sound, she adapted remarkably well into her new environment. Like most Yorkies, Lizzie absolutely thrives off attention and affection, so she has admittedly become one of those dogs who sit on the couch, climbs into our laps, and sometimes naps in our bed!
As a result of her old age, she can’t exactly go for walks anymore. Instead, she strolls around the garden (where she feels most safe) and plays with our daughter, who quickly became Lizzie’s best friend.
Interestingly, the hardest part about owning Lizzie isn’t her disabilities. She is a remarkably fussy dog who refuses to sleep on a crumpled up blanket, so we spent most of our time making sure her bed is in a Lizzie-approved state!
