It’s not only humans who get to have a guide dog, as one Golden Retriever from Mooresville, North Carolina, got his own too after he turned blind.
Golden Retriever Finds a ‘Seeing Eye’ Buddy in Little Puppy
Owners of eleven-year-old dog Charlie had to have his left eye removed in 2016 due to glaucoma. The following year, his right eye was removed for the same reason. After what he had to go through, Charlie’s owners felt bad for him and wanted to get him a new companion.
In 2019, they finally welcomed a new addition to the family—a four-month-old puppy named Maverick.
Owners Adam and Chelsea Stipe told Today that Maverick helps Charlie get around easily. Although they weren’t the best of friends at first, Charlie eased around Maverick later on, and they became best buds. Maverick, whom the couple adopted on the first of January of 2019, has been a big help for Charlie, who struggles moving around due to his blindness.
The Stipes shared to Today, “When Maverick and Charlie play, it’s definitely great to watch because Charlie turns into such a puppy. It’s sweet to see them get along and enjoy each other.”
Maverick will usually guide Charlie around the house, making a great support system for the blind dog, especially during walks.
“They almost turn into little sled dogs where they’ll walk together,” Chelsea Stipe told NBC Philadelphia.
Chelsea submitted a photo of their dogs to WeRateDogs, a social media account with millions of followers across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. When they heard about Charlie and Maverick’s story, they immediately agreed to share their tale to their followers. And unsurprisingly, a lot of WeRateDogs’ followers were touched by Charlie and Mav’s heartwarming bond, with the post gaining hundreds of thousands of likes.
WeRateDogs then suggested that Chelsea and Adam create an Instagram account dedicated to their dogs, and so they did.
As of this writing, their Instagram account amassed 165,000 followers, with each post gaining tens of thousands of likes.
“We have definitely been overwhelmed with the response, but it’s such a good thing,” Stipe said. “We love how positive the community is and how happy (the dogs) are making everyone.”
Watch the videos below