Hi Gang, my name is Rivers!
For those of you who do not know me, I am a blind Iditarod racing sled dog, retired. I have been blind since 1997. Since then, I ran the Iditarod Race twice. I met my friend Mike in June 2000. It was a real chance meeting. That meeting changed both of our lives, for the good.
Mike took me to see Dr. Jim Gaarder, a great animal eye vet, because my eyeballs were so big. Frankly, I was in pain, but you know us dogs, we seldom let our human companions know. Mike wanted to know if I could ever see again.
After a thorough exam, Dr. Jim said that my sight was gone for good. The important thing was to make me comfortable and pain free.
A long time ago, I accepted the fact I was blind, with no chance that I would ever see again. For a while, I continued to race although I was blind. I want to race again. Mike knew I wanted to race and he asked Dr. Jim if I could. Dr. Jim said there was no reason why I could not race again. However, to eliminate the pain, my bad eyeballs had to come out.
Mike contacted IMOM and the Blind Dog Group. With their help, Mike conducted a fund raiser to pay for my operation. Mike kept me at his home in Anchorage while I healed after the operation. Many nice people donated money for my operation. Mike wrote daily updates on my progress and sent them out by e-mail to the Blind Dog e-mail group.
After reading these updates, Mike's wife Mary, along with many members of the group, urged him to write a book about my adventures with him. Mike told me that if Mary had not encouraged him so much, he would have never published any of our books. Mike published 3 books about me and you can read about these books on the Store Page.
Have fun at my on-line doghouse and may all of your trails stay smooth and your dreams come true!!
See Ya ,
