Episode 83. Everything You Should Know About Your Dog’s Vision with Cathy Symons, CVT, CCRP

Can dogs see colors? How does your dog’s breed affect their vision? What changes in your dog’s behavior could indicate they are losing their vision?

Cathy Symons, CVT, CCRP, answers all these questions and more for us.

Cathy’s pug Booda, aka The Emperor, was a bold and adventurous dog who loved his agility class and lived life to the fullest. Until the day he didn’t, and Cathy realized that Booda had gone blind due to a condition known as SARDS (Sudden Acute Retinal Degeneration Syndrome) that is known to affect small breed dogs.

Pulling herself together, Cathy threw herself into creating a safe environment for Booda as he regained his confidence and learned to thrive in his new world. Cathy wrote the book Blind Devotion to share with Pet Parents dealing with their dog’s vision loss everything that she wishes she had known. Cathy is also the author of the children’s book Watching Out for Digger, named after her second blind pug.

In her day job, Cathy works as a Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, and she shares with us what Pet Parents should know about this field and the most common physical conditions and healing modalities she works with.

You can hear Cathy and her Canine Rehab partner Chris on the PetAbility Podcast where they share their decades of knowledge with us so we can keep our pets’ best quality of life for as long as possible.

Cathy & I discuss:

Her childhood experiences with pets and career as a Vet Tech;
When Booda “The Emperor” joined Cathy’s family and what his life was like;
Booda’s and Cathy’s reactions to Booda’s sudden loss of vision;
How Booda regained his confidence;

Safety-proofing your home for a dog with low-vision or no-vision;
Cathy’s book Blind Devotion;
Adopting Digger and writing a children’s book;
Dealing with people’s reactions to blind and special needs dogs;
What should Pet Parents know about their dog’s vision;
Changes in your dog’s behavior that could indicate they are losing their vision;
Creative ways to keep blind dogs safe;
The importance of learning your dog’s body language;
What is Canine Rehabilitation?
The physical conditions and healing modalities that Cathy works with;
Why Cathy teamed up with Chris to start The PetAbility Podcast