HUSON — In Ninemile, a married couple runs a sanctuary for dogs that are either deaf, blind, both, or have another disability.
Some of the rescue dogs were born with their impairment, however, others’ struggles were caused by violence.
All the dogs now have a safe home since 'pack leader' Lorinda Adams believes a dog is valuable no matter their difficulties. "Just because you have a handicap doesn't mean you're handicapped," Adams stated.
"We had eight dogs and we were not a nonprofit at the time and several people kept on telling me, you need to start a nonprofit so you can get assistance to help and you can get more dogs because we are pretty maxed out of our budget," shared Adams.
Now, the Angel's Eyes Sanctuary is a non-profit and they are up to 17 dogs.
"The reason we're called that is our first blind dog, her name was Angel," added Adams. She continued, "Two of them are not part of the rescue, but the other 15 are. Eight of them are either blind and or deaf. And then we've got some that have other issues and we've got a couple that just needed homes."
Adams told MTN that once she was set up for their first special needs dog, a safe space for multiple special needs dogs came with ease.
"The fence is secured. You can't have a coffee table because the little guys will jump off the couch and land on the coffee table. And when you come up our stairs, there's a rubber mat at the bottom and there's a rubber mat at the top. The rubber mat is their braille. So, once we got the porch secured, so they can't fall off the porch, that's when we went okay, once you get going, this is pretty easy," she shared.
Dogs get to free-roam around the fenced property which allows them to have fun, express their personalities, and live outside of cages. "They play, they take care of each other. The ones that aren't blind or deaf help the ones that are blind," said Adams.
The newest addition is a seven-month-old puppy named Bumper.
"She's a husky and she has a condition called Ataxia. So, she'll never be able to walk normally, but she's getting stronger and walking better already [after a visit with a homeopathic doctor]," detailed Adams.
The sanctuary also has three double merle dogs. Adams shared that when a breeder mates two dogs with the merle gene, a pup in the litter will come out with mostly white fur and hearing/sight issues.
"Four of them [are] on meds constantly. We go through two large bags of dog food a week. Most of them we don't place. Once they're here, they stay," Adams detailed.
Many of the dogs at Angel's Eyes have Montana-inspired names. Adams listed, "We have Clancy, Two Dot, we have Townsend and we have Fort Benton and we have Quinns, Dillon and Dixon."
The sanctuary is not currently accepting dogs however, after some of the younger dogs grow older, they plan to take in more elderly dogs. However, those interested in meeting the dogs can do so on occasion. "Visit and sit on the porch and enjoy and watch them and we love sharing them," she said.
Visit Angel's Eyes online to peruse the dog profiles and learn more.
