Touching videos that are making waves online today are all about second chances.
When Duffy, a rescue Irish terrier, went blind, his caregiver Benjamin May claimed he and his parents (Duffy’s owners) were saddened. May notes that Duffy’s fall seemed to happen swiftly.
“He went from a perfectly normal 8-year-old dog to a fully blind dog in approximately 3-5 months,” May posted on the famous website Reddit.
“It tears my heart to watch this dog I grew up with… he knocks into things, doesn’t know me… he simply suffers,” he continued.
Duffy, aged 9, has canine diabetes, which is very similar to human diabetes in that his body cannot manufacture insulin properly, making it difficult for the body to digest sugar. This illness has no known treatment.
Duffy’s owners initially believed he had diabetes last year when he began peeing frequently in the home, one of the unmistakable indicators of the sometimes debilitating condition.
Doctors verified the worst: Tamiflu’s blood sugar was dangerously high. Duffy went blind shortly after her diagnosis and would never be able to see her loved ones again.
But his loving family and experienced veterinarians were adamant about keeping the beautiful Irish Terrier. Duffy’s family faithfully administered medicine and closely monitored Tamiflu’s blood sugar levels until vets agreed to undertake a surgical treatment to restore Duffy’s vision.
“Fortunately, we maintained his statistics stable, and [the doctors] agreed to try surgery,” May added.
Duffy had surgery in January of last year, and everything went well. His family made care to film the moment Duffy’s veterinarian undid the bandages and let him to see his loved ones again. Duffy was overjoyed as he wagged his tail to meet Mom and Dad, his eyes better, though not new.
Duffy’s joyful moment quickly becomes viral. The final film, which was posted on YouTube on May 14, has been seen over 1.5 million times.
May expressed his pride in seeing how far Duffy had progressed since the surgery.
“Obviously, he still has diabetes, so he has insulin shots twice a day, but the surgery to fix his eye was a total success, and there were no difficulties or concerns with his vision,” May told Duffy’s Huffington Post.
