When Z’s parents adopted her two years ago, she was already blind. The poor pup had been through a lot, but she was more than ready for her new life with her forever family.
“She looked pretty rough in the shelter photos,” Tran Le, Z’s mom, told The Dodo. “The vet suggested that her blindness was due to cataracts and glaucoma. Last year, her eyes were removed because of symptomatic glaucoma. Despite this, she navigates her surroundings effortlessly.”
Even though she’s blind and already 9 years old, Z is incredibly energetic and never gets tired of playing. Her favorite game in the entire world is fetch — even though she can’t see the ball.
“Right from the start, her fascination with fetch was obvious,” Le said. “She’s always on the lookout for toys, especially her ball, and would bring us toys to throw. She’s relentless in the pursuit of fetch, even waking up in the morning and immediately searching for her ball.”
Z is an expert at playing fetch and doesn’t struggle with it in the least. She always finds the ball immediately despite not being able to see it, and her family is constantly in awe of her skills.
“We’ve tried various sound-making balls, but she always goes back to her basic green and red ball,” Le said. “We think the balls that make sounds are too easy for her, and she enjoys the challenge of the basic bouncing ball. When it bounces, she frantically follows it, trying to catch it before it stops. Once it stops, she switches to using her scent to locate it — we call this ‘sniffer mode’ or ‘shark mode.’”
Le started posting videos on TikTok of Z playing fetch, and the entire internet quickly became fascinated with the fluffy blind dog who loves playing fetch.
“The response to her videos has been overwhelmingly positive,” Le said. “Viewers express a range of emotions, from tears of joy to amazement.”
Z sometimes even catches the ball in mid-air, further demonstrating her amazing skills. Everyone loves to watch what she can do, but for Z, it’s all about the joy it brings her.
Sweet Z may have had a rough start to life, but now she’s living the dream, playing fetch every single day with a family who loves her.
