Though the majority of us will only ever own a dog for the love and entertainment it can bring to our lives, dogs are actually extremely clever.
The fact that we trust dogs to guide the blind, leading them across busy roads and down flights of steps, is enough proof of this.
But some dogs are able to go one step further and become guide dogs, not for a human owner, but for a fellow blind pup.
Oko is one dog whose life is dedicated to helping another of his kind. He’s a trusty helper to Tao, a 12-year-old golden retriever who had his eyes surgically removed due to glaucoma.
Sadly for Tao, there was no saving his eyes when he was diagnosed with the condition, and the disease progressed so rapidly that he woke up a happy dog one morning, only to go completely blind in one eye by the evening.
But, like most dogs, Tao didn’t let his blindness stop him from living a happy life.
Speaking to Bored Panda about her pup’s recovery, Tao’s owner, Melanie, said:
“Tao’s health is really good now. He’s in no pain, and to say he’s nearly 12, he acts like a much younger dog! He does everything he used to do apart from jumping up hay bales and jumping over hedges—we walk around 8 miles a day and he still trains most days.”
He’d had no real trouble adjusting to his new condition, but Melanie noticed that her pup seemed a little lonely, especially now he was blind. He had lost his brother, Otis, to cancer 3 years ago, and was in need of a new friend – and that’s where Oko came in.
At just 8 weeks old, little Oko, another golden retriever, was adopted into Melanie’s family.
The dogs formed an instant bond, and Oko quickly became Tao’s guide dog. Tao and Oko began to sleep together, and Tao took to following Oko around.
But with Oko being such an important leading figure in Tao’s life, Melanie knew she would have to train the pup to behave, well, slightly less puppy-ish! She said:
“Oko is being trained by me—if not, he would lead Tao into mischief as he is a typical inquisitive puppy. Tao is being trained to follow Oko’s scent and Oko to listen and respond to my commands to ‘stop, wait, go right, go left.’”
Now at about 17 weeks old, Oko has taken to his guide dog mission with typical doggy enthusiasm.
He and Tao have built up an impressive social media following, with a fanbase of 30,000 to this date. It’s easy to see why they’re so well-loved – they have matching cheeky grins and both radiate cuteness, despite the nearly-12-year age gap.
Tao is so popular that he’s even a brand rep for a number of different doggy brands. He’s essentially a celebrity!
Mel, for her part, knows that Tao is happier than ever with his new companion, but still wants to spread awareness about the condition that caused his blindness in the first place.
Glaucoma can be prevented in dogs if it is caught quickly enough. Mel is using Tao’s DNA to help identify proneness to glaucoma in other dogs.
You can learn more about this adorable doggy duo on Tao’s Instagram page.
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