After a full battery of eye tests last week, we learned that we will be able to restore blind Darla's vision! Yes, her retinas are working just fine behind her mature cataracts. In the photo above, vet tech Rachel is holding Darla during the all-important electroretinogram (ERG) test, which determines how well the retinas are functioning. 

So what's a big 115 lb livestock guardian dog supposed to do on a rainy "indoor" day?  Why, chew on a huge kong, of course! It was pouring rain this morning, which meant leaving the goats and their "bodyguards" in their pens. (Did you know goats hate getting wet?) Aaron is now one year old but in the world of giant breeds, still considered something of a puppy. He has tons of that youthful energy that is always looking for an outlet. He wouldn't mind going out in the worst of weather, goats or no goats, but his senior companion, Gina, would much rather stay in on a miserable day like today ... and stay in they do. (You may be able to see Gina way in the back of their den behind Aaron.)

To keep the big lug occupied, I gave him a new kong this morning. He loves chewing on things, including Gina's collars -- we are now on collar No. 4. Better a kong than a collar, eh? He recently demolished the last giant kong, so today was a good day to start on a fresh one. Although looking at the photo, the kong sure doesn't look very big in his paws!

Now, back to work:

The only two completely dog-free zones in the house are our bedroom and my chair in the corner of the living room. That's the same chair that has moved with us from Seattle to Montana and on to New Hampshire. It's the same chair that survived Priscilla the blind Poodle shredding the seat cushion a few years ago -- which is why the recliner is always covered in a sheet or blanket. The rule always was, no dog in that chair!

And then blind Darla arrived and promptly claimed it as her own. She didn't know she was violating a long-standing "order of the court." I was taken aback when I walked in one day recently and found her happily asleep in the chair.

Our wonderful groomer, Lori Fillion from Littleton, was here most of yesterday grooming several of her usual clients, as well as new arrival blind Zach. Alayne got this shot of three of them seeing her off as she left in late afternoon. That's Scamp on the left, Bentley in the middle, and Zach. Scamp and Bentley can now see after their successful eye surgeries so "seeing her off" is actually correct, while Zach doesn't really need to see to know she went through the gate and got in the car. But all three obviously wanted to say goodbye.

Here's a photo of blind Fuzzy looking irresistibly cute with Lori:

And here's funny man Zach:

This guy is a hoot -- just an all-around, lovable character. He is scheduled to see the ophthalmologist next week so we'll know then what caused his blindness, and whether there's anything we can do at this point. (Blind Darla is also scheduled for the same appointment.)

Our new arrival, blind Darla, is one food-motivated older lady. Because we feed the dogs dinner in their crates, she now associates the crates with food. So even before I arrive to start serving up dinner, Miss Darla heads to the dog room and finds an open crate to sit in. She's convinced that this is when "food happens." In this case, she picked blind Sophie's crate to see if she could generate the spontaneous arrival of food. (No such luck.)

Speaking of barbarians at the gate, we've had Wilbur on a diet for the last few months because ... well, because he was getting a bit chunky. He protested the new diet, of course, but recently discovered one unintended (and potentially exciting) benefit -- his new, slimmer body now can almost fit through the bars of the gate protecting the kitchen and our dining table from the hordes. But as you can see, he's not there yet. Nevertheless, talk about motivation for staying on a diet, eh?

Blind Sophie thought it might be a good idea to show the new kids on the block the best way to get handouts from the humans at the table on the other side of the gate. Sitting and staring, as blind Darla is doing, or standing and staring, as Bentley is doing, is rather ineffective as far as Sophie is concerned. She told them, "You have to do something really adorable, and make them think you're working really hard at it (wobble a bit, act like you might topple over at any moment), stare at them the entire time you're doing it, and you'd be amazed what treats come your way."