Two blind dogs are patiently waiting for someone to adopt them from the animal rescue centre they're currently living at.
Nine-year-old shih tzu Tallula and eight-year-old cockerpoo Bella are current residents at The Mayhew Animal Home in London.
Both dogs sadly had their worlds turned upside down when they went blind in both eyes.
But staff at the rescue centre say they have since taken each day in their stride and have never let being blind prevent them from living life to the full like other dogs at the shelter.
The employees are now sharing the pooches' stories in the hope they'll soon find a forever home.
Tallula’s Story
Despite losing both her eyes and now waiting for her third home, lovely little Tallula has never given up hope.
Tallula started life as a normal, healthy dog, with a loving family. Sadly when she was just two years old she developed infections in both of her eyes.
The family took Tallula straight to the vets to get treatment, but unfortunately the veterinary medicine had no effect and the infections developed into severe ulcers.
The vets and Tallula’s family had to make the hard decision to remove her eyes, as they were not responding to treatment and it was the kindest thing to do, considering that she would have been in a lot of pain and discomfort.
Brave Tallula adjusted well to her new life being blind and has since never let her blindness affect her in the slightest.
When Tallula was about eight years old her owners decided to rehome her with a family friend.
Sadly Tallula had only been with her new owners for seven months when they decided to bring her into The Mayhew for adoption.
The owners had started off with good intentions, however when their son brought home a new puppy they were worried that they would not be able to cope, and decided to rehome Tallula.
The owners thought that because Tallula would occasionally have toilet accidents at night, they would not be able to train the new puppy with her around, and Tallula was put up for adoption for her third home.
Since coming into The Mayhew, staff have fallen in love with Tallula and are confident she will finally get the home that she deserves.
The Mayhew’s dog adoption officer, Lisa Guiney, said: "With her playful and confident nature, being blind clearly doesn’t bother Tallula at all.
"She has so much character; she loves playing with her toys, snores like a trooper and will even chat back to you if you talk to her."
Bella’s Story
Sweet little Bella was born a healthy, loving dog in Long Beach, California. Unfortunately though, she became blind earlier this year.
Her previous owner took her to two different vets to find out why she was going blind, but they each gave a different diagnosis: one said she was suffering from Glaucoma and the other thought she had Cataracts.
In February earlier this year, Bella’s owner made the decision to move away from America to London. Despite her efforts, Bella’s owner was unable to find accommodation which would allow for dogs and had to put her up for adoption with The Mayhew.
When she arrived at The Mayhew the vets gave Bella a full check-up and were able to give a more definite diagnosis on her condition.
They discovered that she had a progressive degeneration of the retinas, which doesn’t need any medical treatment or cause her any discomfort.
Guiney said: "Bella is a very sweet, calm and gentle dog who is well behaved and sociable with people, other dogs and cats. She is such an affectionate girl and especially loves it when you rub her belly."
Rehoming a blind dog like Tallula or Bella can be an incredibly rewarding experience and the charity is hoping to find them both loving forever homes.
Guiney continued: "Blind dogs can absolutely live happy and fulfilling lives, and they can still do all the other things that dogs with vision can do, including playing with toys, going for off-the-lead walks and managing staircases. With blind dogs their other senses tend to become heightened as they will start to rely on their hearing and scent more.
"To help a blind dog settle in to a new home it’s important to remember not to move furniture around as the dog will learn the room layouts, and not to leave clutter on the floors which they could walk into.
"You should keep their bed, food and water bowls in the same place so the dog knows where to find them, and make sure people don’t approach the dog suddenly as this will startle them."
If you’re interested in adopting either Tallula or Bella then please visit www.themayhew.org or call 020 8962 8000.
