Old English Sheepdog Rescue  

Sebastian, our newest OES rescue, was beginning to stir in the back seat.

Sebastian is only 18 months old and had obviously received no training whatsoever, so I was delighted at how well he was behaving in the car and I interpreted his stirring to mean it was time for a stop. I had picked Sebastian up just 4 hours ago and was taking him home to Tulsa. The car trip was only supposed to take 5 hours, but we were not even halfway there yet and the fog was getting thicker by the minute. A park with a large ball field at the edge of the small town I was driving through looked like an ideal spot, so I pulled off the road to give Sebastian a well-deserved break.

There was just enough light from the moon shining through the fog on the snow to fill the scene with a bright, eerie glow. I snapped on Sebastian's lead and helped him out of the car. He loved the snow. The second his feet touched, he burst into play. Back and forth he ran, stopping short to grab a mouthful of the white powder before dashing off again. There was something magical about this sheepdog silently frolicking, surrounded by the surreal stillness of the foggy winter night. I ended up in the middle of the field, slowly turning around and around with his lead in my hand. Sebastian was running around me in a circle, leaping and twisting and rolling in the snow.
As I watched his dance, I was so overwhelmed at his joy in the moment, I felt like crying. This beautiful dog, playing without a care in the world, is totally blind. He had lost his sight only 10 weeks ago as a result of the most brutal and vicious attack against an OES I have ever heard of.
Sebastian lived in a small community in rural Kansas. His owner was involved in a heated marital dispute with her husband. Apparently, her husband then decided to demonstrate his anger by killing her dog in front of her and their 13 year-old daughter. He grabbed Sebastian and delivered three powerful blows to Sebastian's head and neck with a hatchet. We don't know the details so we don't know why he stopped, but miraculously, Sebastian did not die. Mercifully, he was knocked unconscious. The first cut missed his spinal column at the base of his skull by a millimeter. The other two blows struck on top of Sebastian's head but the hatchet blade turned and his skull was not split. But the force of the blows was so great, that the internal structures of Sebastian's eyes were shattered. Somehow, the owner had the presence of mind to remember that there was a veterinarian hospital at a nearby Army base and was able to get Sebastian there before he bled to death. That was the best thing that could have happened.
After several long hours of surgery, Sebastian rested in the hospital that would be his home for the next two months. Note the rubber drains installed to allow the wounds to heal properly.
The veterinarians and their staff took Sebastian into surgery immediately and worked long into the night to stabilize him and mend his wounds. Soldiers assigned to the veterinary hospital volunteered to keep Sebastian under 24 hour watch until he was stabilized. The wounds on Sebastian's head were massive and it took considerable skill applied over many weeks to get them to heal and close properly. The devotion and dedication of the veterinary staff saved Sebastian's life.
Staff technicians at the Army veterinary hospital removed the last of Sebastian's staples.
Sebastian's owner could not care properly for a blind dog and allowed the veterinarians to find a new home for him. The closest OES rescue was almost 300 miles away. I think they were surprised when we didn't hesitate to come for him - maybe they didn't know about OES people. After a long talk with the vet and staff, everyone at the hospital took their turn saying good bye to Sebastian and we were off on our way to Tulsa.