Blind Sled Dog Retires

“Isobel the sled dog is hanging up her harness in Churchill, Man.

The nine-year-old Siberian husky-malamute cross is set to retire in January. What makes her well-deserved rest remarkable is that she has been running for the past five years completely blind.

She lost her vision but not her spirit, said owner Gerald Azure.

Everything seemed fine with Isobel until one day five years ago, when she staggered to a halt in the middle of a sled run.

Veterinarians in Winnipeg told Azure and his wife, Jenafor Ollander, that Isobel’s retinas had detached, possibly the result of a virus. The doctors said Isobel would not be able to work as a sled dog any longer.”