[Nfbf-l] Seeing Eye Cat Helps His Owner Adjust to Being Blind

[Alan Dicey]

Dear Friends,
This is a cute story.  I would never think of a cat being able to do this.
With Best Regards,
God Bless,
Alan
Plantation, Florida
Seeing Eye Cat Helps His Owner Adjust to Being Blind
When Robert Sollars of Mesa, Arizona went blind in 2003, Sollars' cat, 
Admiral K'reme, became his seeing-eye cat, helping his owner adjust to his 
new life.
Sollars, a security consultant, says his loss of sight is due to diabetic 
retinopolophy and came upon him quickly. Once his doctor had diagnosed his 
condition, Sollars and his wife began finding ways to adjust to their new 
reality.
The Admiral quickly joined in to help. He established himself as Sollars' 
"Guardian Kitty," guiding him around the house and helping him navigate.
The Admiral would watch and anticipate where Sollars was headed "just like a 
good wide receiver would," Sollars chuckles. Then, the cat would run to  the 
anticipated spot and meow until Sollars found his way.
"When I'd get up in the middle of the night, he'd follow me through the 
house, 'yelling' at me until I got back in bed," Sollars remembers with a 
laugh. Although losing his sight was traumatic, Sollars says, "It was 
comforting to have the Admiral with me."
Now 10 years later, Sollars is completely adjusted to life without his 
eyesight, but Admiral K'reme still takes his job as protector and guardian 
very seriously. He sleeps by the front door at night and worries about 
Sollars when he leaves the house. "If I take out the garbage or go get  the 
mail, he'll meow meow meow until I'm back inside," Sollars says.
Sollars runs his security consulting business from home and is even  working 
on a book right now, using a special word processing program. The 
15-year-old Admiral is still right there by his side "helping" him, by 
sitting on Sollars' keyboard or squeezing beside him on the chair.
When the Admiral isn't protecting Sollars or helping him work, he's keeping 
Sollars abreast of how the pair's favorite football team, the Cincinnati 
Bengals, is doing. "Every Sunday he gets in the chair with me to watch them 
play football. If they start doing poorly, he'll leave the room. Then later, 
he'll come back to the chair to finish watching the game with me!"
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