A RESCUE dog who went blind overnight has finally found love in a dazzling new forever home after nine months of waiting at Dogs Trust Evesham.

Alex the four-year old Terrier is now called Oti by his new owner, Winefride Brack from Chipping Norton who fell in love with Oti the first time she set eyes on him after originally looking for a Collie.

Winefride says: “I had a Collie for 15 years so I originally visited the rehoming centre looking for one. There wasn’t anything suitable for me at the time, but one of the team asked me whether I had considered rehoming a blind dog. I must admit, I didn’t think I’d be able to provide a blind dog with what they needed, so I left that day still on my search for a Collie. But, after seeing Alex’s little face on the website, I just couldn’t get him out of my head, so a few weeks later, I contacted the team, and the rest is history.”

Oti arrived in the care of the Wickhamford-based rehoming centre back in October 2018 when he had full vision. He was instantly a firm favourite with his canine carers but one morning, staff suddenly noticed that he was walking into things and was sent to the vets so they could take an urgent look at him. After being referred to an eye specialist, it was confirmed that Alex had gone blind as a result of detached retinas.

Despite this sudden change, he has adapted incredibly well and his ‘guide humans’ in the form of his Canine Carers helped him feel safe and secure by going above and beyond to make his daily life much more predictable. They applied scents to his harness so he knew when it was being placed over his head, they taught him to lift his paw when there’s a step in front of him so he doesn’t trip over and provided different textures on the entrance to his kennel so he knew where he was.

Oti now enjoys several walks a day, plays in the garden of his Cotswolds home, has met the neighbours and is generally loving life.

Winefride added: “You really wouldn’t know that he’s been through so much. He is marvelous and makes me smile every day. He loves to go for walks and meet people on his way round. He also has his silly giddy moments which is so lovely to see. He is very affectionate and so intelligent."