Animal Force Blind Dogs Puppuccino Time!
Taking a Blind Shelter Dog To Get A Puppuccino
Rocky Kanaka
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????Interested in adopting Lady?
Learn more here: https://rockykanaka.com/adoption/lady/
Update On Buddha the Blind Shelter Pittie
Buddha, a two-year-old male black and white Pitbull, found himself at Animal Friends of the Valleys shelter in Wildomar, California when his human mom tragically passed away, and he had no other family to care for him. Not only did his breed lower his chances at getting adopted already, but to add to his upsetting predicament – he’s completely blind.
Rocky visited the shelter and when he came across Buddha, it completely tugged at his heartstrings. Buddha had most likely been born blind, and Rocky noticed just like his own blind pup Kobe, Buddha walks like a Clydesdale horse with his feet lifting higher off the ground to feel for obstacles in front of him. After talking with shelter staff on how he’d been doing at the shelter, Rocky sat in to spend some time getting to know him.
Buddha was excited at first, but then completely melted into Rocky’s lap. Rocky explains that blind dogs’ minds are constantly at work trying to make sense of the world around them, and when Buddha laid in his lap, he was able to finally fully relax. Because blind dogs are able to use their other senses such as smell and hearing better than humans, in a way, it’s easier to be a blind dog than a blind human. By being in Rocky’s lap, knowing he was safe and understanding exactly where he was, Buddha could finally “see,” allowing for him to completely disarm himself with Rocky.
Buddha had been at Animal Friends of the Valleys nearly a month by the time Rocky posted a feature of Buddha on social media. With the help of thousands of shares and millions of views, a friendly couple named Pat and Freddi drove nearly two hours just for Buddha! As soon as they arrived at the shelter, they specifically asked to meet with Buddha and decided on adoption immediately. All the shelter staff said their goodbyes to Buddha as he finally had his walk of freedom.
To celebrate, Rocky took Buddha to get his first ever puppuccino. Buddha took a minute to understand what Rocky held out in front of him, but once he understood there was a delicious new treat for him in a cup, he enjoyed it right away!
On top of this exciting new experience and a brand new home to call his own, Rocky had an incredible surprise waiting for Freddi and Pat, Buddha’s new parents. Thanks to Sundays dog food, Buddha was supplied with an entire year’s worth of healthy freeze-dried dog food!
Get 35% off your first order + free shipping w/ code ROCKY35!Freddi and Pat were so thankful and being dog parents that care immensely for their pup’s health, instantly took to allowing Buddha to try it (he loved it!
Buddha is now at his forever home with Freddi, Pat, and the “rest of the pack,” which includes another special needs blind pittie named Sage, plus pups Zeus and Oona. Freddi and Pat are slowly allowing Buddha to become accustomed to his new home and the other pets in their home, and are working on training Buddha consistently. He happily plays with toys, relaxes with his parents, and is experiencing the joys of life outside of the shelter.
Video Transcript
He’s blind and this is his first Puppuccino ever. Today, I’m taking a blind dog from the shelter to get his first ever Puppuccino. I was worried he was gonna continue to get passed by because he has a double whammy. He’s a pit bull, and he’s blind. And I’m back in the saddle with animal control, as we work to save multiple dogs that are running loose. I’m Rocky Kanaka and this is “Animal Force.”
Sergeant Nonnemacher is immediately dispatched to a dog running wild in the streets. Dangerous for the dog because he could be hit by a moving vehicle. Dangerous for people if the dog decides to attack. The passenger door can’t be opened. Look closely. If you know anything about dog body language, immediately, you will see the hair standing up on the back of that dog. And that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
[Michael] Come here!
And I’m thinking you can’t even open the passenger door. But get this. Before anyone has a moment to even think, you look over, and there’s Sergeant Nonnemacher kneeling down, making cute baby goo-goo-ga-ga sounds to this dog.
Come here! Get over here, girl. Get over here, girl.
Whoa. This guy obviously has some experience that gives him these nerves of steel.
I’m Michael Nonnemacher. I’m the field sergeant. I’ve been working for Animal Friends of the Valleys animal control for a little over five years. Come on. You wanna go for a ride?This isn’t gonna be easy.Come on.Sergeant Nonnemacher is a pro, because he is being very careful to not start a chase with this dog. And the minute a chase starts, the dog could run into a more dangerous situation, like oncoming traffic.
Or if this is their house and they ran away, they might not be able to find their way back. Coming soon, we’ll find out what Sergeant decides, but I gotta tell you, this happens on a regular basis. In fact, that same day, we were on a call, where a pitty had been roaming, one of the neighbors got her into an enclosed area, but she’s scared. So Sergeant Nonnemacher is going to have to approach this with equal parts compassion and care.All right, we’re here at this address.
A person had found a loose dog and they are holding it now. I’m here to pick it up.While Sergeant comes up with a plan, I wanna share with you what happened when I went in to see if Buddha would let me sit with him, because it was a moment that I will not soon forget. He’s here because his human mom passed, and he had nowhere else to go.
An unknown place like a shelter can be a really scary place for a dog. And when you add on top of that not having all of your senses, not being able to see, it makes it even harder. But in this moment we’re sharing together, it’s like he can see. He knows what’s around him, safety and comfort, and he can let go. He’s a perfect example of why dogs are so amazing, because right now, he’s living in the moment, and the fact that he’s trusting me to be a part of that makes me so happy.
You know, my dog Kobe is a blind dog, so sitting with Buddha just hit me so hard. But we just got back from the vet, and we got some news. And if you don’t know Kobe’s story, he is a special-needs dog.
He’s blind. He had to have a life-saving heart procedure. So he’s got a really small heart for the size of his body, which means he has a really high heart rate. His heart has to beat faster to keep up with his large Cane Corso body. The reason I tell you all of that is it equates to high anxiety.
Often, he will go meals without eating because his anxiety is so high. His weight drops. Then his medication levels are all off. After Kobe’s lifesaving heart surgery, the vet said he would live to two years old. So we went to his three-year checkup because he’s still alive, and get this.
The vet said he expects him to live another five years. I can only attribute it to Kobe being a fighter, all the love we have given him, and proper nutrition. That’s why when Sundays Dog Food reached out and wanted to be a sponsor, I jumped at the opportunity. For me to recommend a product, it has to work on our dogs. And we’ve been feeding what now? Over 30 days?
Yep.
Over a month?
Over a month.
And our dogs just really love it, and we know it’s nutritious. What’s neat about Kobe’s coat is we can always tell the quality of dog food he’s eating by how soft his coat is, and right now, he is like a velvety throw pillow, right?
[Woman] Yeah, he really is.
He is like the perfect couch cuddle bug. It’s good, huh?
[Woman] I love how good it smells.
Yeah, it really does. And it’s because it’s air dried, and it’s made from a short list of human-grade ingredients. And you can see and smell that. Outside of USDA beef, all-natural chicken and turkey, it also has digestive aids like pumpkin and ginger. Plus, look at this. Cranberries, tart cherries, strawberries, all disease-fighting antioxidants.
[Woman] I also like that they deliver it right to our door.
That is super convenient. Look, he’s already ready. Oh, he knows that sound. We pour his food in the bowl, and then this is the cleanup. Done. Back in the cupboard. For a busy family, cleanup being that easy, while the food’s still being that nutritious is priceless. So he’s got a full, happy belly.
But I want you to get this for your dog. Try it. And on your first order, you can even get 35% off. That’s a good deal. Put that code in, too, Rocky35, so you get that 35% off. And let me know, when you get it, how your dog’s doing with Sundays Dog Food. I’ll also link it down below, so you can just click that link. But go get it. Try it right now. Let’s support the companies that are supporting us helping dogs.
Get 35% off your first order + free shipping w/ code ROCKY35!Well, so as far as picking up a confined stray, this was a little bit harder to get. She’s very skittish. She didn’t want anything to do with me. So gaining her trust was a little bit harder. Hi. Do you wanna go for a ride? Come here. Hi. Come here, mamas. Mama? Come here, Bubba. Mama. Come here, beautifuls.
Hi. Come here. Get over here. Come here. Hi. Come here. Hi, mamas. Come here. It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt ya. I promise. Look. Not gonna hurt ya. Got her in a corner, which sometimes doesn’t really work out the best. I’m not gonna hurt ya, mamas. See? There you go. Come on. Let’s go. Come on. Good girls. Come on. That’s a good girl. But when I got her on the leash, I brought her to the truck, which then I tried to get her on the truck with just using the steps. She didn’t wanna do it.
Now, for my safety and her safety, I put her on the pole, just so I could keep her at a distance, so that she wouldn’t come back at me, and so that I wouldn’t hurt her in the process of getting her up in the truck. Now, from here, she’s gonna go to the shelter. Hopefully, her owners, if she has one, will come looking for her. If not, in 10 days, she’ll be available for adoption.
One thing you can tell with a blind dog is the way they step, they almost step like a Clydesdale horse, because they’re feeling what’s in front of them. And if you walk normally, you might stub your toe on something. So when they lift their leg up, they’re looking for a stairs or items that might be there, and it’s just kind of a natural way to check out their surroundings. Now, I know he can’t see shadows or anything. An easy way to test this is just to wave a treat back and forth. Dogs love treats. They’re gonna track that with their eyes, and there’s no eye movement from him.
[Sharyl] And he’s only two years old, so you know he wants to play.
Yeah.
He’s on the dog-walking program and he does really well when you-
[Rocky] Oh yeah?
…when you continually talk to him. He does really good out in the field.
But when I was sitting with him and he was just melting, the reason I’m getting chills talking about it right now, the reason that happens is because in those moments, he can see. He knows he’s safe. He knows his surroundings are me. And so that’s really one of the only times that he can let his guard down. Any other time, he’s having to listen, because he can’t see to figure out what is going on. So his brain is always active. He’s likely often tired because he’s just always working to try to figure out his surroundings. And so in that moment, the reason he melted is because it it gave him the ability to see. I just wanna cut in here real quick because I shared Buddha’s story on social, and millions of you saw this and shared it, and it actually found its way to a family that was hours away. They didn’t care. They drove immediately to the shelter, and this is what happened next.
Attention in the shelter. Animal Friends of the Valleys would like to congratulate Buddha for being adopted today.
Yay!
Yes! Buddha! That makes me so happy. And thank you. If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok or Facebook, wherever, and you watched this or shared this or commented, you are as much of a part of his adoption as anybody else. And Animal Friends of the Valleys for giving this special-needs blind dog a chance. A lot of shelters couldn’t even do that. I think there’s only one thing left to do to celebrate Buddha’s adoption. We gotta go get him his first Puppuccino. I was wondering, can I get a big Puppuccino?
[Eric] Sure.
You rock. Thank you.
[Eric] Uh-huh.
So a Puppuccino, it’s like a cappuccino, but it’s for puppies like yourself. You ready? It tastes sweet. Have you’ve ever had ice cream? It would kind of be like that. Humans get coffee in it, but there’s no coffee in it for you ’cause you don’t need extra energy. While we wait in this long line, let’s check in on Sergeant Nonnemacher. What did Sergeant decide to do with that dog that was running loose?
Due to the circumstances of the dog and the location that we’re at, I’m unable to actually catch the dog. But with the location and according to the neighbors, the dog is staying directly here. So it’s safer that I keep him here, as opposed to him getting more aggressive or going into oncoming traffic. I’m gonna be leaving information for the owners to make contact and hopefully keep this dog confined.
These situations can often be a tough call, and Sergeant will continue to check up on this situation. That’s the thing with animal control. It doesn’t stop. The community and the animals in it continue to need support. I think what strikes me about Sergeant Nonnemacher is when you meet him, you see a very strong individual. But after spending some time with him, what I found is that what gives him his strength is his foundation of compassion and care, his ability to be vulnerable with the animals and put aside all of the negative stereotypes that he gets on a regular basis just for suiting up and putting on his sergeant animal control badge.
[Man] Get off my property.
[Michael] I’m actually leaving you a documentation.
[Man] You can get off my property is what you can do.
I told you I will leave as soon as I am-
[Man] Okay. I’m calling the police on you.
All right, have a great day, sir.
That’s just one of many examples. But you know what else I saw?
Need anything? Do you have some dog food? Do you want another leash or anything like that?
[Rocky] A kind, compassionate man.
Pantera.
Pantera is a great name.
Who wanted to help wherever he could animals and the people in his community.
I wish people would understand that we’re not all out to harm the animals, but that we are actually here to do good and that we are also trying our very best to educate people of our job.
I’m so honored to have spent some time with Sergeant Nonnemacher, and I can’t wait to go on more ride-alongs with him. If you’re out and about, and you see Animal Friends of the Valleys’ animal control or the animal control in your neighborhood, thank them. Introduce yourself. Get to know them. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Now, let’s get Buddha his Puppuccino. And I wrote a song about it. Do you want me to sing it to you? Yeah? It goes like this. ♪ Puppuccino time, puppu-puppu-cinno time ♪ ♪ Puppuccino time, puppu-puppu-cinno time ♪ ♪ Puppuccino time, puppu-puppu-cinno time ♪ ♪ Puppuccino time ♪
[Children] Yay!
That bad? Oh, you like it? Okay. Right here. Right here, brother. Right here.
[Eric] There you go. So it does get messy.
Eric, thanks so much. Okay. I think it’s a hit.
Right?
Yeah. He’s from Animal Friends of the Valley, just right down the street. Yeah. Your first Puppuccino ever. Eric, you rock man. Thank you so much. We still have a really big surprise for the adopting family of Buddha. I hear they’re wonderful. Let’s meet ’em. Thank you so much for adopting Buddha.
I’m Freddi. We walked in. I had the posting from the shelter open on my phone. I was like, we’re here for him.
Yeah.
And they brought us to a room to look at him through the glass. We said, “No, no, you don’t understand.”
We want him.
We don’t just wanna see him. We know we want him. We don’t care what the issues may be. He’s going with us. We’re not leaving without this dog today.
Well, listen, I have a gift, a surprise for you guys. and we’d love to give to you as a thank you for adopting.
[Freddi] Oh my goodness.
This is just the first shipment for you, for Buddha. where we are giving Buddha with Sundays Dog Food entire year of dog food. It’s so fun to surprise a family who did the right thing, and now, they get a whole year’s supply of dog food.
Thank you Sundays for sponsoring this video. Make sure you go get this for your dog. We want Sundays to come back and keep sponsoring us, and I want your dog to have some really good food. Sergeant Michael Nonnemacher, thank you for what you do.
The entire Animal Friends of the Valleys team and volunteers, you are fantastic. And if you want to help animals and you think animal control could be one way to do that and you live in the area, I’m gonna put a link down below so that you can apply to potentially be an animal control officer. And here’s the thing. Our job is not done. Do you remember that little pitty that Sergeant Nama laid down to try to comfort?
Well, I went to go visit her at the shelter, and it’s heartbreaking. You can tell she’s never been loved before. I’m trying to give her little bits of affection, so that she warms up to that. Her name is Lady. Interested in adopting her? ????https://rockykanaka.com/adoption/lady/
She will make an amazing dog for someone who has the patience and is willing to put in the time with her. Go to RockyKanaka.com for updates on her, and make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications. That way, you can follow along on her journey and what happens next. Share this, because you never know when your share might be the one that leads her to getting to a forever home. I hope you love watching “Animal Force” as much as I love making it.
Click the link in the description below to watch the entire series, or just click right up here in the corner.
[Cameraman] Is that a sticker?
Don’t worry about it.
