From left, Libby, Michael and Eric Canter meet their new dog, Prince Keller. (Submitted photo) [Click to enlarge]

But this wasn't any ordinary dog, or adoption.

"We've had a lot of adoptions take place but this one really touched my heart," said Brenda Goodrich, of Bedford County Animal Control. "He didn't have to be put down just because he was blind."

The 1- or 2-year-old terrier, a stray from Bell Buckle, came into the hands of BCAC July 14. Goodrich asked Dr. Andrea Anderson, of the Shelbyville Animal Hospital, to take a look at the brown and white terrier that had touched her heart.

"I had never asked Dr. Anderson to do this before," said Goodrich. "She said that he has been blind since birth."

The otherwise healthy dog had been at BCAC for almost a month, however, and time was running out.

In the meantime, Libby Canter, a legal assistant in Lexington, Ky., received an e-mail at work from Birchwood Farm, a pet rescue farm in Georgetown, Ky., about the blind terrier in Shelbyville.

"They received word from (BCAC) and sent out e-mails to everyone," said Canter, whose law firm was included in the e-mail blast.

Canter read the e-mail to her husband and son, who agreed that they couldn't let the terrier, whose time was running out, be put down. They decided it was time for a new addition to the family, which already included a 2-year-old Jack Russell/rat terrier mix named Sophia.

The Canters adopted the terrier and named it Keller, after renowned author and lecturer Helen Keller, the first deaf and blind person to graduate from college.

"We cannot imagine how anyone can put down an animal," Canter said. "These animals just want love. Keller is an attention hog just like Sophia. He follows her around and when we take walks you can't tell that he is blind."

Hawgs for the Dawgs

Because more than 10 million animals enter local shelters across the country each year, October has been named "Adopt a Shelter Dog Month," to draw attention to the country's pet population problem.

In honor of this, and in conjunction with Bedford County Humane Association and Shelbyville Animal Control, BCAC is holding a poker run ride, "Hawgs for the Dawgs," Oct. 4, with an Oct. 11 rain date.

This approximately 80-mile ride begins at the BCAC parking lot on Lane Parkway and ends at Bedford County Courthouse. Registration is from 8 to 9:45 a.m. and bikes will leave at approximately 10 a.m. The cost is $20 (plus $5 for an extra rider) and proceeds benefit a spay/neuter committee, sanctioned by BCAC, the Humane Association and Shelbyville Animal Control.

Following the ride, a lunch, open to non-riders, will be held on the square. Volunteers are needed and donations are being accepted.

"We are close to making the dream come true for a spay and neuter clinic," Goodrich wrote in an e-mail.

This clinic will benefit stray and abandoned cats and dogs, as well as elderly and low-income families.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

BCAC, located at 205 Lane Parkway, may be reached at 685-1130.