As dogs get older, they can also suffer from certain age-related complaints. Poor vision or even blindness are not uncommon.
This is what happened to twelve-year-old Labrador dog Sage. Although she was otherwise sprightly and still full of life, she unfortunately went blind.
Sage goes astray
The Cole family, Sage’s owners, still don’t know exactly how Sage was able to leave the house and property. They can only imagine that Sage gave in to an instinct despite being blind.
However, it was unclear whether and how the blind Labrador dog would find her way home again, especially as the Coles‘ property is bordered by an extensive wooded area.
The family searched the entire surrounding area and neighbours, friends and relatives soon joined the increasingly desperate Cole family in their efforts.
Five days of failure
With each day that Sage was not found, the family’s courage sank, as Beth Cole later admitted in an interview.
But neither the family nor their friends and neighbours wanted to give up hope completely and tried to keep the search going by going for walks in the surrounding area.
The sixth and seventh days passed. Slowly, Sage’s elusiveness led to the gruesome assumption that she must have fallen victim to a predator.
The happy twist
On the eighth day after Sage’s disappearance, the Coles‘ neighbour, Dan Estrada, went for a walk in the woods with his two dogs and a friend.
The trained fireman was annoyed by what he initially thought were polluters who had thrown a large light-coloured plastic bag into a small depression in Boulder Creek.
Suddenly his friend alerted him to the fact that the supposed bag was moving, and Dan scrambled down the slope as quickly as possible.
As he approached, he could see that it was Sage. He spoke to her and she raised her head.
Dan’s dogs also recognised their friend and started barking with joy, causing Sage to move even more.
After eight days alone and without food in the forest, however, she was too weak to get up.
Tears of joy at the reunion
Without further ado, Dan lifted Sage into his arms and noticed how she reacted to being close to his dogs.
The Cole family were informed via smartphone and immediately set off to meet Sage.
Despite her blindness, Sage showed an incredible will to live and was able to make it through the eight days thanks to her camp by the small stream!
