Miracle dog gets sight restored, new lease on life

ABINGDON, Va. – Stuck in a rural Kentucky shelter, Homer was sick, bald and blind. By all accounts, he didn’t stand much of a chance.

But two caring women, with the help of the Internet, opened a new world for the good-natured cocker spaniel – and a veterinarian at Virginia Tech restored his sight.

Joyce Vanover calls Homer her miracle dog.

“The fact that he was found was a miracle, and somebody thought he was worth saving, that was a miracle,” said Vanover, a retired elementary school teacher.

“It was a miracle that he survived. It’s a miracle that his attitude was so wonderful even though he couldn’t see a thing,” Vanover said. “Now that he’s got his sight, his world is magical.”

Homer didn’t have much to say about his dramatic change of fortune during a recent interview at his Abingdon home – but he was enjoying the soft, warm blanket he lay on and the toys bought just for him.

“I wanted to get a dog nobody else would want,” said Vanover, who admits she’s a sucker for an underdog – human or animal – in need of a fighting chance.

“I guess I’ve always been for the kids and animals who don’t have someone to love them,” she said. “I guess what drew me to Homer was the fact that he could be blind and yet accept life so well and be happy. He’s an inspiration to all of us. We’re all going to have disappointments and problems in life, but you’ve got to keep on going.”

Before he found his way to Abingdon, Homer was so sick with mange, eye infection and heartworms, it took half a year to restore his health, said Hannah Harris, the Winchester, Ky., woman who rescued him from the shelter and served as his “foster mom.”

“Seeing a dog that was that sweet and friendly and forgiving, made me really want to give him a chance to have a decent life,” Harris said. “He had obviously been through a lot.”

Her nonprofit group, Brighter Days for Shelters, works with rural animal shelters to get their pets on the Internet and adopted.

It was through a Web page on Petfinder.com that Vanover found Homer – and fell in love.

“I’m the one who’s lucky because I’ve learned so much from him,” Vanover said. “There are millions of dogs out there if people would just give them a chance.”

She said she loved Homer as a blind dog, but when she heard it might be possible, she wanted to give him a chance at regaining his sight. So she took him to Virginia Tech, where it cost $1,800 for the miracle.

“We’re doing the same thing that I think we do in human hospitals,” said Dan Binder, a resident in the ophthalmology program at the veterinary teaching hospital and the man who performed Homer’s successful cataract surgery in June.

But, he said, “Most people don’t let their cataracts go to this stage because they would be bumping up against walls.”

One of Homer’s eyes was too far damaged, but Binder was able to restore sight to the other eye using an artificial lens.

He said he does eye surgery on a dog about once a week. And although many of his canine patients leave without treatment, more and more people are willing to pay for surgery – and other health care – for beloved animals.

“He’s done great with it,” Binder said of Homer. “He’s really trucked along, and he just has the best attitude.”

Vanover said Homer is a wonderful companion who loves long walks and riding in the passenger seat of their convertible to the sound of good gospel music.

“I don’t care to shop. Travel is not my thing. Hanging out with Homer is what I do,” she said, “and trying to make people aware that shelters have some wonderful animals.”

She said people can learn, from animals like Homer, how to live their own lives: with resiliency, calm perseverance and unconditional love.

dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701