Help for Blind Dogs on Love Your Pet Day: Noah’s Story

Noah, feeling the almighty, powerful rock star he is

Do you have a blind dog or know someone who does? What about a blind shelter dog?  It’s Love Your Pet Day and, if ever there was one, this is a great gift of love for a blind dog.  I wrote about Muffin’s Halo a  year and a half ago, after discovering the product at an industry conference. It’s inventor, Silvie Bordeaux, created the product out of love for her at that time 13 1/2 year old toy poodle Muffin, who went blind due to cataracts. “I was devastated, since he kept bumping into walls and falling down the stairs. He became very depressed and was afraid to move around. I could not let him out of my sight and carried him around everywhere.”

Muffin in his Muffin’s Halo

She searched the internet but couldn’t find anything suitable for Muffin. That’s when she realized that there was a great need for a product to assist blind/visually impaired dogs, and she set to work.

A Muffin’s Halo is a harness plus, made from lightweight copper tubing, fabric and velcro. The covered tubing provides a barrier around the dog’s head that helps guide it around obstacles. So, instead of walking into a wall, the Halo alerts the dog a few inches from the wall, that it’s there, allowing the pup to navigate around it. Silvie added padded angel’s wings to the halo-like bumper design to represent blind dogs being guided by their angels. They’re manufactured right here in the U.S. in Silvie’s factory in California.

Here’s a video of how it works:

“Muffin’s Halo changed his life, as well as mine,” Silvie shared. “He knew his home again and could travel with me to any hotel or friend’s house and familiarize himself with any new surroundings, quickly. Most importantly, I could leave him at home for hours and know that he is safe.”

Mia even has her own blinged out version

And, they’re stylish, too! Muffin’s Halos come in white, red, pink and blue, in colorful butterfly wings, a My Blind Dog proclamation one and, for football fans, the quarterback Halo. Coming soon, a Muffin’s Halo for cats. I’m sure they’ll be super cute! But, more important than cute, is the incredible power this product is providing blind dogs around the world. Please share this with any parents of blind dogs or shelters in your neighborhood. What a blessing to give a blind dog a new lease on life!

Sadly, at 15, Muffin recently passed over the Rainbow Bridge. But, he leaves a very powerful paw print. Muffin’s Halo is now all over the world and has helped countless blind dogs feel empowered. It’s twice-patented, and won Best Dog Product in 2015 at SuperZoo, an influential pet industry conference. And, it is highly recommended by Animal Ophthalmologists and Veterinarians worldwide.

America’s favorite vet, Dr. Marty Becker, had this to say, “I was recently sent a review product called ‘Muffin’s Halo’ to try, and it blew me away enough that it became one of my Top new products of the year. These wings and halo help my blind dog ‘see’.”

Sylvie went on to create Second Chances for Blind Dogs to provide Halos free to blind dogs in shelters. I asked Silvie to share a powerful story about how a Muffin’s Halo helped a rescue, and here’s what she told me. It took a village of very special ladies to save Noah. Here’s his tale.

Noah’s Story

Backyard breeders. We’ve read about them; heard how awful they are. Yet, people still buy from them, because everyone isn’t yet educated on what terrible conditions these dogs can live under and how interbreeding, common with backyard breeders, can create horrorshow dogs, deformed and sickly, some never making it out of puppyhood. Pet stores, Craig’s List, there are many channels through which backyard breeders sell their commodities…puppies.

Noah at rescue

Noah, post grooming, one day after being rescued

Noah came from such a place in California. Born without eyes and no knees, causing him to waddle like a duck, inbreeding started Noah’s life in major deficit. Just look at the poor little guy.

He was one of four Cockapoo pups – Mary and Abby are his sisters. All have leg deformities and a fourth, brother Romeo, died from malnourishment, before he ever got to really experience life. Because Noah was born without eyes, his sisters ate his food. All the dogs were so malnourished, that by the time Noah was 5 1/2 months old, he only weighed 2.5 lbs. Lucky for Noah and his sisters, a lady named Jasmin Gabay Kimball, entered their lives.

Bobby Kimball & Jasmin Gabay Kimball

Jasmin is an animal savior. Married to Bobby Kimball, former lead singer of Grammy Award-winning rock band, Toto (remember “Hold the Line”?), Jasmin and Bobby have devoted their lives to locating dogs in need, providing them a safe haven and helping to place them around the country in forever homes. They founded Saving K9 Lives Plus, a 501(c)3 charity for that purpose. She and Silvie know each other from the California rescue network.

I asked her how she got into saving animals five years ago. “Our friend wanted a dog similar to our Maltese,” she explained.”I helped her. This was the first time I was ever in an animal shelter. I became aware of the animals there. I helped by doing blankets drives, fostering…later staring our own rescue, Saving K9 Lives Plus.”

Jasmin was made aware of the triplets through her friend, a vet, brought in to try to save their dying brother. She came with a team to wrest these hapless puppies from the clueless backyard breeder, who thought she was doing good by them. Can you imagine?  Jasmin took in Noah and his sisters for the first 3 weeks of their journey.

“Saving the triplet puppies was a challenge and a learning experience,” Jasmin explained. “We set out to help them, never realizing they would bring awareness to special needs animals!”

Rosie

Jasmin reached out to foster mom,  Cinnamon Muhlbauer. Cinnamon’s specialty is victims of inbreeding and other special needs dogs. She has a Facebook page named after her baby, Everything Rosie, which boasts close to 200,000 fans and is a go to place for people looking to adopt a special needs dog. Rosie was the victim of a backyard breeder/hoarder, a Chihuahua born on Valentine’s Day 2010 with congenital deformities of the face, jaw, spine, and legs. Her life was short-lived; Rosie passed before she was three. But, it was filled with love, once Cinnamon adopted her and Rosie has helped draw attention to this horrible, greedy, cruel practice. People like Cinnamon, Jasmin, Silvie and Lisa Marie, who you’ll soon meet, are true angels. Cinnamon fostered Noah, Mary and Abby for two months. Now, enter Lisa Marie Edge.

Lisa Marie went looking for a dog…

Before Noah was born, Lisa Marie had been looking to add to their canine family. A medical assistant and teacher for underprivileged kids in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, Lisa Marie and her husband, Rob, are angels in the army of special needs pet parents. They already had experience with blind dogs, dogs debilitated by stroke, dogs without all of their legs.

Over the course of a year, Lisa Marie filled out application after application online for dogs around the country. Whether she didn’t receive a call back or the rescue didn’t want to cross state lines with the dog, Lisa Marie was becoming frustrated.

Simultaneously, Cinnamon’s Everything Rosie Facebook page started promoting the triplets and the word spread. People came out of the woodwork to adopt, especially for Noah, who had the greatest challenges.  Jasmin held onto the applications for six weeks, until the puppies were further along in their recovery.  Lisa Marie seemed a good fit, and she finally got her first call back. Isn’t it funny how the universe works? We don’t always understand it in the moment, but as it unfolds, things become clearer.

Jasmin gives Noah one last hug before taking him to the airport Photo credit: Rhoda Goodman

In that conversation, Jasmin advised Lisa Marie to talk to Cinnamon. This dog will need a LOT of rehab; it’ll be three months before he’s even ready to go home, she shared. Lisa Marie and Rob weren’t deterred.

Noah ready to go to the airport to fly to his new family Photo credit: Rhoda Goodman

Jasmin is meticulous about placements. Home checks of Lisa Marie and Rob’s were organized. Shelters and rescuers work together in a big network around the country, so Jasmin reached out to Shelly Lampe, from United Yorkie Rescue, a local shelter near Lisa Marie. Shelly thought Lisa Marie and Rob were a great fit for Noah!

Lisa Marie and Noah

Three months  later and exactly one year ago today, Noah was flown home, where loving parents, five other special needs siblings, a Mangos on a Mission-donated wheelchair and, yes, a Silvie-donated Muffin’s Halo awaited him. In less than two months, Noah outgrew his Muffin’s Halo, his wheelchair and gained almost six pounds! “He was so hungry,” Lisa Marie shared. Today, Noah weighs 12 pounds. Look how gorgeous he looks!

Look how empowered Noah is with his Muffin’s Halo. The boy even skis!

How do these people do it? We all love animals, yet it takes a special kind of person to seek out and care for those with special needs. “When you look different, you are just as important as any purebred dog,” Lisa Marie declared.

Noah’s Legacy

The Rockstar that is Noah

Just like Muffin’s life mattered to so many, Noah is empowering others through his. Noah has his own Facebook page, Noah’s Legacy: I’m a Blind Rock Star, This is How I Roll. It’s filled with wonderful photos and videos of Noah and his siblings, Lexi, a blind mill dog rescue, Tater  Tot, a puppy mill dog, Gracie, a mill bred Maltese who chewed off her own leg to escape from being wrapped in wire and left to die, and Nicky, a 15-year old, blind cutie pie.

Noah and Nicky in their Muffins Halos

Noah’s days are busy. “We go into schools and talk to kids about everyone’s differences outwardly, but inside, we’re all the same,” Lisa Marie explained. “I remember this Goth boy in one school. By the time I was done sharing Noah’s puppy pictures and what puppy mills are really like, I looked up in the bleachers and saw this kid’s hand over his face and his make up smeared. It’s a powerful thing.”

Noah working in the schools

Lisa Marie and Noah raise money to buy books focused on bullying to take into schools. “Not long after getting Noah, we received our first $50.00 donation and went to the back, so Noah could open his own bank account.

Noah opening his bank account at Farmer’s Savings Bank

Noah and Lisa Marie have added nursing home visits into their mission, also to talk about bullying. “My goal is if Noah can make them take their minds off of their problems for two minutes, we’ve made a difference,” Lisa Marie said. “People are going into chemo with Noah’s picture.”

Noah with one of his ladies in the SiennaCrest Dementia Home

The Giveaway!

Are you inspired? There are so many powerful stories about dogs making huge differences in people’s lives. Muffin and Noah are great examples of legacies that will long outlive them.

Now, who wants to win a special, limited edition Muffin’s Halo calendar?!

To enter:

• If you aren’t already a member of the Bark & Swagger Family, join our email list.
• Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram
• Like Muffin’s Halo on Facebook
• Like Noah on Facebook
• Like SavingK9Lives on Facebook.

For more info on Muffin’s Halo, read my previous post here.

For more info on Saving K9 Lives Plus, go here.

All photos of Noah credited to Lisa Marie Edge, except those of Jasmin Gabay Kimball with Noah and Noah packed and ready to go; those credited to Rhoda Goodman.

All photos of Muffins Halos on dogs, except Noah, credited to Muffin’s Halo.

Do you know a blind dog a Muffin’s Halo could help? Pass this along!