Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows I am a big fan of all dogs (even the occasional poodle).
Major hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for putting this video on his site.
Blind dog playing fetch?
Is that a sick joke? A cruel animal hater’s unfunny viral video?
Neither. It is incontrovertible, life-affirming evidence of the pure soul that dogs epitomize.
Get the tissues out. This is a tear-jerker, but the tears are joyful and come from a place of incredulity: that enigmatic place that gives us answers to questions we don’t think or even try to ask.
On a whim, looking for a picture of this wonderful pup, I found that he is actually a bit of a celebrity. Check it out here, here and here.
As if Myron was not sufficient reason for celebration and another reminder of how much we can –and should– try to learn from dogs, we have his owners (Raquel and Terry Wood).
I have to say I’m not terribly surprised (although I am amazed, delighted, and inspired) that a dog who happens to have no eyes continues to live –and enjoy– life because, well, he’s a dog (which also inspires metaphysical rhetoric like what choice does an animal have? which also, of course, applies to human animals who happened to be born without sight–many of whom have contributed some of our greatest paintings, literature, and, above all, music) and this is what dogs do. The happiness they receive in proportion to the love and joy they expect or need is always humbling to the perceptive observer. I am, in a way, more appreciative of the example set by these two amazing people, who refused to let Myron be put down (as the vet advised) and have devoted the extra time and care to ensure he has a meaningful existence. The payoff, of course, is that this little miracle is also enriching their lives in ways that are easy to articulate, and quite evident in the videos here. More, Myron is able to provide –for anyone fortunate enough to recognize it– the type of meaning that we, like blind dogs chasing their tales, are too often unable to find via money and material acquisitions.
