The Tale of Trooper

     With our family moving around like we do, we try to make it back home to my parents place as often as we can. 3 years ago, we came home with one more family member than we left with. My oldest daughter loves spending time with my cousins that are her age. After a lunch out one day she asked to go home with my aunt and little cousin to the country. I agreed and off they went to have fun for a couple hours. My mom informed me that there was a litter of Dachshund pups that were running around out there and that Kitty may ask for one. Didnt bother me one bit, we had a dog already, I knew Bear (my Airman) would tell me "no" and that would be that.
     2 hours pass and out we head to the country to fetch Kitty. We get there and wondered around back where she is playing with my sweet cousin. There were only 3 pups left and they were running around playing with the kids. All that is, but one. He ran into the back of my leg, following the bright white of my sock in the Texas sun. I picked him up and cuddled him and noticed his eyes. The sun was to my back and I held him up to look in his face, and his pupils never adjusted. They were as big as could be. I looked over at my aunt with a curious face and asked about him.

     I was told that he was like that from birth. He was always bumping into things and had a hard time getting about. She then told me, "I was hoping you would notice him." I immediately sent my Airman a text asking if I could bring him home. I never expected him to send back one that said "yes." I explained the puppy's challenges and he still agreed. My aunt was overjoyed that he would be going home with a family that would understand him. My daughter was delighted that a puppy was coming home and had no idea what "blind" meant.

     Upon getting him home to the Airbase I took him to our civilian vet. His optic disk in his eyes was set so far back that he would be fully blind within a year or two. He could see 10% of the time, if, and only if, it was in bright flashes of light. She explained the challenges it would bring us, and we still agreed to keep him.

     3 years later, he is still a very loving part of our family. Trooper sleeps with Kitty, plays with our other dogs, and acts as if nothing is different. Sure, he cant go down stair alone (he tends to just Superman off the top of the stairs), and he is a bit fearful about jumping off the couch. But each day he does it. He has learned different commands like "stop", "back", "step", "up, up" and "WALL!" He will not be formally trained, but I prefer it that way. He is great the way he is. He's my little Trooper.