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I am very sorry to tell you that my sweet little dachshund Gaudi became suddenly blind in late August 2002. 
Gaudi is featured front and center in this photo taken earlier in the summer of 2002 before his eyesight problem. Behind him are his loyal subjects, Wotan, Shakti and Bridget
As soon as I noticed that Gaudi didn't seem to be able to see his dry dog food when it was on the floor, I took him to my local vet clinic. The two vets there did some tests and said he had to go ASAP to an animal eye specialist on the mainland. I got him an appointment for the next day and the vet specialist tested him and said he is "non-visual" in both eyes! She said she believes it is something called Suddenly Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (also known as SARD or SARDS). She will retest him in a few months to confirm this. If it is SARD, it is permanent. Fortunately there is no pain, but there is confusion and depression for him as he so suddenly lost his sight. He is only about 7 years old, so I hope he will adjust as soon as he can do his new world of darkness and live a happy life again. Meanwhile he still loves his food and can walk okay (if slowly) on a leash. Wotan, Shakti and I all now wear bells so he can tell where we are easily. It is very sad though to sometimes see him walk into things and trip over others. I am working with him diligently to help him adjust and grow more independent.
If you would like to know more about Suddenly Acquired Retinal Degeneration or other dog blindness problems here are some links I have found helpful:
SARDS
Owners of Blind Dogs
Here is the flyer we saw one fateful day five years ago on Orcas island in Washington tacked up beside the public telephone at the post office where we happened to go to call about Wotan and Shakti being in a kennel on the mainland. Once I saw this face I was hooked. We had never intended on getting another dachshund, but I thought it must be kismet that this poster was placed right in from of my nose (literally). And so Gaudi (who used to be Hobie...although he didn't seem to know his own name when we got him) came to live at Wiener Wonderland. BTW the foster owner who created this flyer had his age wrong...he was actually not quite 2 then. He turned seven years old on April 5th ...a date that was given to me over the phone by this second owner of his, so I can only assume it is correct. And he is still a speed demon and a lovable boy (with more fur now on his neck, tummy and tail).
![[IMAGE]](xxgpos_1.jpg)
Gaudi is a "eager eater" and has certainly gained weight since we rescued him. The refrigerator to him is the sacred huge white box he worships at. Anytime he hears the
faint whisper of its seal being broken, he is transported faster than the
speed of sound to the kitchen. And there he stands with perky ears and twinkling, hopefully little eyes as he marvels at the sight of whatever a human has hauled out of the sacred white box. Whatever it may be he pleads for just a piece.....or 40. Gaudi helps up out by cleaning up any spills on the stove! Dachshunds can be very useful at times. Gaudi is always available to help anyone with a food problem. (The following was written for this web page 3 years ago when I first put it online...now it only seems ironic and sad in light of Gaudi's recent sudden blindness). An old friend was here visiting us and she remarked on the changes in our adopted doxie Gaudi in the year since she last saw him. She remarked on how much more he weighs (I don't know how he does it as we feed him less than the others and he gets lots of exercise) but also she remarked on his eyes. We adopted Gaudi from his second owner March of 1997 and we noticed he had very, very small eyes (or so it seemed). About a year after we got him I started noticing his eyes didn't seem as small anymore. This became more and more obvious as his eyes appeared to open up more and more as the weeks and months of good treatment in our house continued. He used to have tiny slit like eyes and now his eyes are big and round and open. I never knew a dog could be so traumatized by life they could keep a permanent squint for years (and finally now he has relaxed enough to open his eyes fully and be in this world). Nowadays I call him my "big eyed boy."
Click here to email me....but remember Gaudi is no longer in need of a home...he's happy with us!
Please come by and see my new dachshund page as of August 2002. See wiener dogs hiking at the Pacific ocean, terrorizing small lobsters and plaster deer, moving their home and murdering rats (ugh!). All this and more at
Dachshunds Rule!
Want to take a trip back in time to when Wotan and Shakti were young puppies? Then stop by and see the web page I made in the Spring of 2002.
There are quite a few cute portraits
and action photos of them as dachshund puppies. The text tells of how we got the names Wotan and Shakti, what they mean and also talks about the defect Wotan was born with (which hasn't held him back in his life). Please stop by and see it at Dachshund Puppies: Wotan and Shakti
European dachshunds.
See a number of German dachshunds we met on our trip in 2001 as well as new action photos of our own Wotan, Shakti & Gaudi. Come see Wotan with a yogurt container stuck on his head...that's a sight that will certain amaze and dazzle you:) Adventures with Dachshunds
I've traveled extensively in my life. If you are interested in seeing some of the places I have been to, stop by and see personal photos of some of my foreign travels. A handful of photographs from many of my/our trips to Europe are shown at this web page: Europe Travel Photos
Here's another page of travel photographs I used to have online at NBCi/xoom (ggggrrrrrrr to them Wotan says) which I just got back online after extensive additional work....it shows photos of some of my Asian trips. Photographs of Asian travels
Stop by to see my web page with over 20 large photographs and detailed text covering part of our almost month long trip to Europe in May of 2001. Come see it at Germany and Belgium 2001
Stop by and see 21st Century Dachshunds View a number of action photographs of our dachshunds in very large rabbit burrows. Also see 3 doxies face off in a challenge against 3 swans as well as other humorous photos.
See dachshunds licking horses, sleeping on plants, protecting humans from ferry boats and more at 10 Funny Dachshund Photos
Another web page of mine tells the story in photos and text of Wotan's recovery from major surgery. Some of the photos are sad and some are funny. It ends happily though with Wotan back in the pink of health now. Check it out at Wotan's Recovery Page: Triumph of a Dachshund
Also take a look at the first web page I did all on one theme and that tells a little story. I think the captions I came up with for this one are more creative too. Come by and see it at:Wiener Dog Takes the Money and Runs
Wiener dogs stare down Great Danes, get stuck in logs and blender jars, rips apart enormous carpets, swim in large ponds, hike on the edges of cliffs, help sift compost, and eat lots of pig ears. All that and more can be seen in action photographs at the page Dashing Dachshunds.
This was my first page with animated graphics, and is also my first dachshund page with lots of text...and many funny stories about dachshund's behavior, some cute photographs and a mystery about an "angel" and a lost doxie. It's all here at:Dachshund Stories and Photos
It's NOT about dachshunds....it's an inspiring page of poems about nature. You can find it at Well Known Nature Poems
Stop by and see another recently added dachshund web page. See dachshunds in cages on ferry boats, doxies stuck in the slats of chairs sleeping comfortably, and dachshunds "going wormakin". Come see it all at Wonder Wiener Dogs of Washington.
See dachshunds leap into a birdbath, destroying balloons, lifting weights, drinking espresso, imitating Mother Theresa and other strange and wonderful dachshund photographs atDoxie, Dachsie, Dachshund!
See photos of a dachshund atop a mountain, licking a glass case holding rats, wading in ponds amid sand dunes and other rare sights atAmazing Dachshunds!
Here are links to my other web pages
Fellow dachshund owners...are you interested in posting to other dachshund owners about doxies? There is a good message board (not mine) for dachshunds at: Dachsie's Bulletin Board. Often there is funny and helpful dachshund info from other doxie fans. It's a great place to check out after you are finished visiting my dachshund photo web pages!
This web page was updated Sept. 2002. All contents ©Copyright 2002