www.atlantabeaglerescue.org

This is Lucky. He was very lucky indeed to be spotted at the Rockland County animal control facility by a rescuer. That rescuer called a friend, who happened to be our friend who had rescued Jasper. She contacted us and told us there was a young, blind beagle in need of immediate help. Of course we said yes!

We were hoping we could get some interest in him locally, but it hasn't happened, so Lucky is going to be flying to Montana on Friday to go to Rolling Dog Ranch.

We sure do wish they could talk. Aside from being about 5 pounds underweight and covered in ticks, Lucky was in pretty good health. He tested negative for heartworm and his blindness seems to be a birth defect. He gets around just fine with his nose and the sound of the other dogs' collar tags. He loves to get his ears scratched and has a funny habit of tipping over his food bowl and baying at it.

Our eventual goal of opening a retirement home for senior beagles may be expanded to dogs with needs like Lucky. There is no reason this dog could not be adopted but the stigma of "handicap" is hard to overcome - be it dogs or people. Lucky needed a lot more time than he would have gotten at the shelter to find a new home. If only his owners had educated themselves about how to properly care for a dog, they would have realized this precious pup is the perfect family pet.