When her 14-year-old toy poodle, Muffin, lost his sight due to cataracts, Silvie Bordeaux was devastated to see her blind baby become depressed and withdrawn because he was no longer safely able to move around the house.
As she scoured the internet for help, Silvie soon realized that not only was there no easy solution, but also that pets are often abandoned and put down when they've gone blind.
Divinely inspired by her dog's plight, Silvie invented Muffin's Halo Guide for Dogs®.
The halo is made of lightweight copper tubing, velcro, and fabric, and creates a barrier to keep dogs from hitting his or her head and nose on the surrounding objects.
Today Muffin's Halo Guide comes in a variety of colors (red, blue, pink white), sizes, and styles, so your super butch bulldog can look like a quarterback, or your petite purse pup can flit along looking like a sweet little butterfly.
Next step: Muffin's Halo for Cats – we think that makes Purrfect sense!
Bordeaux isn't the only one who had the idea for a halo-like helper. Ellen Burgess and Dorie Stratton had a similar idea when Dorie rescued a blind Scottish terrier, Scotty Boy, who she found wandering around a Walmart parking lot. Saddened by the plight of her puppy, Dorie reached out to her friend Ellen, who had an alteration business.
The result was a now patented "unique medical device for blind dogs" called the Halo Vest®, which they sell internationally, helping blind dogs all over the world. It has a simple design made with duck cloth, plastic tubing, galvanized wire, velcro, and a knapsack buckle, and fit not just dogs, but also other seeing-impaired pets as well.
Not only are these dog halos a fantastic way to help blind dogs, but also they're pretty darn CUTE!! Seriously, if Sparky was your "little angel" before, now he can look like one too!
Photo Attributions:
Lone Wolf Dog Wear
Muffin's Halo
Scotty Boy Zack Facebook
Halos for Paws
UK Daily Mail