Blind cavoodle dumped by breeder, adopted by Tara Todhunter and family from Red Head near Taree

After being dumped by a breeder and having five different homes in her first five months of life, little Ziggy the blind cavoodle has found her forever home. Here’s her story.

After being dumped by a breeder and having five different homes in her first five months of life, little Ziggy the blind cavoodle has found her forever home with the Todhunter family.

Now they can’t imagine life without her at their property at Red Head, near Taree.

“She has brought so much love and laughter into our lives,” Tara Todhunter said.

“Ziggy is definitely one of a kind and her disability does not define her.”

The cavoodle was born blind and when her new owners from Byron Bay realised something was wrong they returned her to the breeder they purchased her from.

Tara says Ziggy's eyes look normal but they have a reflective look in different light.

“The breeder then gave her to a friend. The friend did not want her and gave her back to the breeder.

“The breeder then gave her to the pound as she was ‘useless’ and she was going to be put to sleep,” Ms Todhunter said.

Ziggy eventually found her way to Tiki Animal Rescue, based in the Hunter and Central Coast region, and that’s how Ms Todhunter came across her while scrolling through Facebook.

Tara Todhunter with Ziggy.

“She had five different homes in the first five months of her life but the minute my husband and I saw her we just fell in love,” she said.

Ms Todhunter and her husband Hugh said their son Fynn loves playing and sleeping in with his new fur brother.

“We love that we have shown our son the kindness of adoption – particularly a special needs dog,” she said.

Ziggy is now two – and has “mapped” their entire house and backyard. She is able to move freely in the familiar space and plays with the family’s other dog, Pepper, a five-year-old moodle.

Ziggy with 13-year-old Fynn Todhunter

“Her eyes look normal but they have a reflective look in different lighting,” Ms Todhunter said.

“If she is in an unfamiliar place she will just stand in one spot and cry – or do circles on the spot.”

One of Ziggy’s favourite games has been hunting for eggs laid by the Todhunter’s free ranging chickens.

Her pal Pepper knows something is different about Ziggy and often tries to help her with challenges like learning to use the doggie door, or stopping her if she is going to hurt herself.

Ziggy celebrating Christmas.

Ziggy has regular sessions with certified K9 Nose Work instructor Suzie Emery to hone her sense of smell. She has been running through various search drills, like detection dogs working in the army, at airports and in the police force.

The benefits seen in professional detection dogs such as focus, confidence and self control, inspired the K9 Nose Work model to allow pet dogs to also benefit.

But there’s things Ziggy will not do, like walking on a lead – it scares her too much and she will freeze and start whimpering.

“If we go anywhere I carry her in a handbag,” Ms Todhunter said.

When it comes to food, there’s no hesitation and Ms Todhunter said the pooch was obsessed.

“We had a grape vine growing in the back yard and I had to cut the lower grapes off as she would eat them – grapes are not good for dogs,” she said.

“She will eat anything. She loves capsicum, apple, green beans, carrot. You name it, she loves it.”

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