It was not looking good for Jack and Chico, two 10-year-old Australian Cattle Dogs with a special relationship.
Chico has no eyes. Jack is his seeing-eye dog and best buddy.
The owner of the sibling canines died, leaving these family pets to a relative along with some money to care for them. But according to Paula Evans, office manager of the MaxFund dog shelter, the relative either couldn't, or wouldn't, look after them.
The dogs needed to go to a shelter - together. But Chico's life suddenly was in jeopardy. If he was taken to most shelters, he probably would have been euthanized.
In a stroke of luck, the siblings were taken to Maxfund, a no-kill facility with previous experience in taking care of vision-impaired animals.
"We just have a belief that every animal should have a good life," Evans said
When the siblings appeared on a local television station, their story really got rolling. Other media started picking up the tale and MaxFund started getting calls from all over the country, Evans said.
Eventually, the dogs were adopted by a woman and her daughter in Colorado Springs, who have not been identified. The woman has even taught Chico to walk up stairs.
But the story doesn't end there.
"We've established an Indiegogo fundraiser, called 'Jack and Chico's Seeing Eye Fund'," Evans said this week. "MaxFund takes in blind dogs from time to time, and some of them can regain their sight through surgery. Squirt, for instance, came to MaxFund as a starving stray. He had out-of-control diabetes, which caused cataracts and made him blind. With surgery, though, he regained his sight and went on to find a great forever home!
"As you can imagine, though, eye surgery is very expensive," she continued. "We're hoping that, with Jack and Chico's help, we'll be able to raise funds to help the next several animals who come to MaxFund with correctable vision issues."
To contribute, click here.
Meanwhile, it looks like Jack and Chico will be together the rest of their lives.
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