Dog loses sight, 2 dog friends guide her around house

WATERFORD, Mich. -- We've all heard of seeing-eye dogs - special furry companions who help visually impaired humans. But in Michigan, a blind dog is being helped by her own kind.

When Jessica VanHusen noticed her dog Kiaya squinting at her with one eye, she knew something wasn't right.

"I found out she had glaucoma, which is increased pressure in her eyeball," VanHusen said.

"When Kiaya originally presented, we started treatments for glaucoma," said Dr. Michael West, veterinary ophthalmologist.

The medicine helped that eye continue to see for a time, but eventually, to ease Kiaya's pain, the eye had to be removed. Then the same thing happened to the other eye.

"It was hard. It was really hard," VanHusen said.

VanHusen wondered how the 10-year-old Akita would get around her Waterford home, but she ended up having help. Her two other dogs Cass and Keller, suddenly took on the role of being her seeing-eye-dogs, WXYZ-TV reports.

"I think she would be lost without them. She relies on them. When they are coming in from the back yard they rub up against her. They guide her," VanHusen said.

VanHusen says she hopes by sharing this story she teaches others that special-needs pets deserve a chance. She continuously finds herself inspired by her dogs, especially Kiaya.

"She lives in a dark world and is sunny," VanHusen said.