We ended up with about an inch and a half of snow overnight. It didn’t affect the roads much, so after we dropped Riggy off to have his teeth cleaned this morning at the vet’s office, we headed up to Ste. Genevieve to pick up some odds and ends from the Brew Haus and have lunch at the Anvil.
While we were there, I saw something I’d never noticed before:
I was a little reluctant to take my eyes off of it, because from a distance, it looked suspiciously like:
When we got back, we picked up new tags for the dogs and a new collar for Riggy and met a nice young man who was having a tag engraved with “MARRY ME” so he could put it on the puppy he was getting for his girlfriend. He said she told him she wanted a puppy and a ring, so he was getting her both on the same day.
After another errand or two, we went to the vet’s office to pick up Riggy, who was well and truly stoned from the anaesthetic. He cried on the way home because he hates riding in the car, but when we got to the Hardee’s drive-through to get him some chicken strips for dinner, he whimpered once or twice and then started literally nodding off:
Poor little Riggy. He enjoyed his chicken, though. He’s got some more waiting for him when he wakes up.
Emily
Red Fork Hippie 
Poor little Riggy. It’s scary enough when you can see what’s happening to you. Must be terrifying to go through it blind.
I think he was more scared of riding in the car without Songdog than he was of the vet. The tech who took care of him said he saunters around there like he owns the place. She didn’t even realize he was blind the first time it was her turn to put him out when we boarded him during vacation.
I should add that she told us Riggy is now her poster child when people start talking about putting a dog down when its vision starts to go. I told her to feel free to put them in touch with us if they’re not sure how to make adjustments. We don’t even follow the conventional wisdom that says you can’t move the furniture. Rig just echolocates around the obstacles and moves on.
I thought of Riggy the other day when I saw a post on one of the click-bait sites. A woman had invented a “halo” made of some kind of rubber hose that was designed to alert the dog when it approached an obstacle by bumping into the halo rather than the dog’s nose. It was worn on a harness that went over the dog’s shoulders and extended a bit higher than the head. Clever, but obviously unnecessary, for rat terriers, at least. Rig has certainly demonstrated that. Not sure if all dogs have the echolocation traits, though. Maybe some don’t.
Yeah, Rig definitely doesn’t need much help. He’s got a seeing-eye dog if he needs one (and I’m told he lets Song lead when we board them), but he just relies on his nose and ears most of the time.