famous chihuahua would like to introduce it’s readers to samson the miracle chihuahua puppy born without eyes and with cerebral palsy. we instantly fell in love with little samson and we are moved by his story and it’s message of genuine unconditional love.
chihuahua puppies with disabilities are born everyday. many of them end up in shelters or are euthanized because no one wants to home these precious creatures. people feel they must have a perfect pet in order to be happy. this is simply not true. little sampson is a perfect example of the kind of unconditional love that comes with adopted chihuahuas.
samson was born with a condition called anophthalmos, which is the absence of one or both eyes and in this case, it may have been caused by premature closing of the molera or soft spot. anophthalmos is very rare and it can only be diagnosed after intensive study. most of the time the condition is actually michophthalmos; which has at least a little of the eye formation.
either condition is not a cause for wobbling in a pup who has developed balance. a blind pup will simply take longer than a sighted one to develop it – usually by five months of age. anothalmia/microphthalmos and/or blindness (in itself) is not associated with a lack of balance.
it was suggested that samson might have been born with water in his brain – a condition called hydrocephalus and hydromyelia. his family didn’t accept this assumption because they did not see samson suffer from symptoms of this condition; such as his balance getting worse, hitting his face with his paws, signs of pain, and even seizures, etc.
samson’s family continued to wonder if his wobbling would ever be completely gone. tests for a medical diagnosis would be expensive and troublesome for little samson, not to mention, they would not solve or help him in any way, but these tests would be done out of curiosity and not a need. so they resorted to forums, websites, online support groups and videos for answers.
samson is now a very happy and healthy five months old and his family has diagnosed his condition as cerebellar hypoplasia, also known as cerebral palsy. the signs in samson (although mild) are present and include: poor balance, feet planted far apart, stiff or high-stepping gait, and head and back leg tremors (which increase when he is excited and are altogether gone when he is at rest).
cerebellar hypoplasia is a disorder in which the cerebellum (the part of the brain which deals with balance and motor skills) is not completely mature at birth. there is no cure for this condition, and it varies from mild to severe. animals with this condition do not get worse or better, but they do learn to live with it and can be expected to have a high quality of life in a loving and understanding home.
affected puppies have normal mental alertness. sometimes cerebellar hypoplasia can be confused with cerebellar abiotrophy, but difference in abiotrophy is that a puppy will have a normal cerebellum at birth that will gradually deteriorates as they get older, around two months of age.
samson’s family feels that being blind has nothing to do with balance. a puppy born blind will take longer to learn to walk but will eventually learn to do so without wobbling. it is important to know that lots of praise, understanding and healthy “doggy” play can go a long way for pets with disabilities.
if your puppy suffers from any disability, feed them with love and consistent praise, and they will compensate and overcome. remember, you are the best “vet” for your pet. you live with them and understand their needs and challenges.
educate yourself, join support groups, search the internet for advice and encouragement. be patient and just love, love, love your furry friend. your pet will always be thankful to you for saving their life! visit blindpup.com for the daily chronicles of sampson the blind chihuahua. we love you sampson!
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Comments 13
Hi, we have just discovered one of our little chihuahua puppies has no eyes also. I would love to get in touch with Samsons owners somehow for advice. If anyone knows if they have facebook etc can they let me know. Many thanks
Samson has gone on to heaven? i’m sorry for such a loss as he is awesome. how old was he when he passed — what happened? we will see him also when we go home to be with all of those we love and who’ve gone on before us! god bless u ♥
so sorry little Samson is dead…why did you have to put him to sleep?? I’m sure you made the right judgment call and you miss him loads….Hurray for people like you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my littel milo was also born blind
Hi we just got a dog from my daughter. It is 6 weeks old. She is a Boston Terrier her name is DAISY. Her eyes ar just like Samson. It’s kind of hard to tell because she is so young But. She kind of walks like Samson. Her balance is off and alot of the time her feet are planted far apart. We didn’t know what was wrong with her tell we seen sweet little Samson. We really love DAISY she’s so playful she’s alot of FUN!
Hello & thankyou for this touching story. I was searching on the net looking for the information on this as I myself have a little Jack Russell called Betty with No eyes. I was coming home from church two weeks ago with my four children when a very dirty little dog wondered in front of my car. I stopped picked it up & looked at her she was all mucky with brown stuff coming from her eyes. I brought her home cleaned her & her eyes but I couldn`t see any I thought she may have bad conjuctavities. I brought her to the vets & they asked where did I find her explianed & they said that she has No eyes at all. So I got her wormed vacinated & antibiotics for her eye sockets as there was brown dirt coming form them , the Vet said she was probabley dumped well I cryed & cryed as I felt so sorry for her. Anyway the story is I have four beautiful little children two Labradours & one very special little Jack Russell called Betty shes adorable.Kindest regards the Bonner family :0)x
he seems so sweet i am going to spread it across the world about him and he acts just like a normal dog
Author
absolutely
Bought a teacup chiuahua 2wks ago. It was having blood in stool and tha breeder said it was stress because of the transition and gave me a med to give her. Her stool did start to firm up and we thought everything was going great, till this morning when we took her out of her kennel. She was totally listless with a very slow heartbeat, she died before we could get her to a vet. Could she have been sick when we bought her?
Great video guys, we have a 5 month old Jack Russell terrier, who was born without eyes at all. He can play with his little mates in the yard all day and most people don’t even realize he is blind until they get up close and have a look. Most people can’t believe a blind dog has a chance at life but they are more adaptable than humans! Well done and keep posting more videos.
Kind regards
David Slatter
Goolmangar NSW Australia
I have a special little chihuahua “Ruby” – not only is she special, she was also born without eyes. That does not stop her from anything! I also have a pitbull and Ruby will totally rule things!!
We too have a precious blind little Chihuahua named Muffin.
She looks almost just like Samson.
We adopted her from spca when she was about 5 or 6 years old. She is approx 10 or 11years old now.
She had sever Cataracts and was completely blind.She has been a joy to our lives and our familyAnd such a blessing.
As I watched your beautiful vidoe and read your story on Samson , I have so much admiration for your love and support for him.
He is so adorable and looks so happy.
Blind little doggies are amazing and such a joy
to have.
Kidos to you for being such loving parents.
Mary:)
What a lovely video, what a lovely little (big) chap, all I can say is that the love and understanding is what any dog owner should give with just that little bit extra awareness. I would not hesitate to take on a chihuahua like this. Best wishes. X