Gentle Ben - Adopted

Name: Gentle Ben

Age: 4 years

Sex: Male (altered)

Breed: German Shepherd

Location: Northern California

Vet Info: Ben has been blind since birth. He is neutered and current with vaccinations. He is heartworm negative. Ben weighs 90 lbs. His caregiver writes “he is in perfect health.”  

Owner Info: Gentle Ben is a purebred German Shepherd who was rescued from Craigslist nine months ago when his owner was deployed to Korea and could not find someone to take him who understands blind dogs. His current caregiver wrote, "He is a great dog but I took him in to foster him to see that he did not get put down and to train him so that he would be more adoptable. I have had him for 9 months. My husband and I are close to retirement and need to reduce the "dog print" in our home. We love Ben very much but he is our fourth dog and we now travel a lot." Ben is an indoor dog with run of the house. He is house-broken and leash-trained. Ben's caregiver has spent many hours training him and now Ben knows commands, sit, stay, lie down, go to your bed, drop it, “watch” when off leash and in potential danger, come and stop! Ben is described as shy and good with men, women, teenager, and kids, as well as male and female dogs and cats. His caregiver has 3 other dogs, 1 cat, and “various foster dogs have come through the house." She said that Ben is “fine when new animals come into the house when he is introduced and he is not surprised.” If he is off-leash and meets a small dog, he can react and snap out of fear, not aggression. She described an incident where this happened on an off-leash trail walk. A small dog ran up to him and growled at him. Ben picked up the small dog in his mouth and then put him down again. The small dog got a skin laceration from being in Ben's mouth. Ben then laid down in a submissive posture and was confused by what happened. He has never shown this behavior while on leash and meeting new dogs and has never acted out with the dogs in the house. For this reason, his caregiver says he cannot be off-leash in a dog park or environment where there are other dogs around and he feels insecure. Ben's caregiver wrote that a lot of people do not believe that Ben is blind when they first meet him. "Since he has blind since birth, he has adapted flawlessly to his disability and goes about his business as though it doesn't exist."  She says he is very adaptable and wrote, "He adapted to his home with me immediately, mapping out the whole fenced property, and the entire of the inside of the house within a day." She feels that ideally, he would have a companion dog to help him along. 

She wants us to know that "his new owner will be richly rewarded with a pet that is completely tuned in, reliable, gentle and attentive."