Guide dogs don’t just help blind people get around, sometimes they also help their fellow canines with sight impairment better navigate the darkness. And one golden retriever, Tao, got his very own seeing eye puppy following the loss of his sight. His buddy who helps the older dog get around is named Oko. The two of them create some very wholesome and heartwarming for Tao’s social media, which sees around 13.6k followers on his Instagram page.
Since becoming Tao’s seeing-eye dog, little Oko has been making quite the debut on his buddy’s social media. The two dogs are melting hearts all across Instagram as people marvel at how caringly Oko is able to take Tao’s leash and walk him around in a safe manner. The two of them often go for walks together because of this. And those videos and photos are what are making it onto the social media platform.
Tao’s blindness is a result of both his eyes being removed due to glaucoma. Melanie Jackson, Tao’s owner has remarked that her 10-year-old pooch isn’t just adaptable and making wonderful strides post-surgery, but that he’s “amazing.” Melanie first noticed that something wasn’t right with her dog when he showed signs of being in pain as well as having vision problems. A trip to the vet then confirmed the diagnosis that it was glaucoma. From there, the decision was made to remove his eye. Unfortunately for Tao, 11 months after losing his first eye, he had to have the second one removed as well.
As Melanie explained, glaucoma is a build-up of eye fluid, and with nowhere to drain, the pain becomes intense. That is why his eyes had to be removed. She noticed the onset rather quickly one morning when Tao began acting out of character. She shared that by that same evening, it was clear that her beloved pooch was in very intense pain – constantly scratching at his face. Melanie took him to the vet who said that the pressure in his eye was so high, there was no other choice but to remove it.
Given Tao’s ordeal, Melanie now wants to raise awareness for canine glaucoma as she doesn’t want to see this happen to other pet owners. In fact, she has closely worked with The Kennel Club to use Tao’s DNA as a “marker” that could help to identify other dogs who could potentially be prone to the disease. Glaucoma doesn’t have to be a definite loss of vision outcome – it can be an entirely preventable condition if it is caught and diagnosed early enough.
