Stray puppy is guide dog for his blind brother

Will Lerner
·Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

Get ready to feel some emotions. The good kind. Two dogs, believed to be lab/pit bull mixes were found wandering the streets of Philadelphia. “Jeffrey” and “Jermaine” were taken to Animal Control, where they were spotted by Ray Little, Director of Life Saving at foster, rescue, and adoption service Operation Ava. They write in an FAQ, “It was immediately apparent that Jeffrey and Jermaine were scared and confused but that Jermaine was doing everything possible to stay close to his blind brother and Jeffrey leaned on Jermaine for support.” Yep, that’s right, despite never having been trained to do so, Jermaine is a guide dog for his brother Jeffrey.

Little tells WCAU NBC 10 that the pups are two peas in a pod, “They're always pretty much touching each other. Jeffrey really does try to maintain contact with Jermaine, especially when he's in an unfamiliar environment. As soon as he gets familiar with a new place, then he becomes a little bit more independent. But it's amazing how they try to maintain contact with each other."

Word of the pooches has spread. Chester County SPCA board member Tom Hicky told The Philadelphia Inquirer that after volunteer Kimberly Cary posted a picture of the 8-month-old brothers to Facebook, they got over 3 million hits, "It has just touched the hearts of people all around the world."

Sadly, Operation Ava’s veterinarians don’t think that Jeffrey’s vision damage is reversible. Otherwise, the doggie brothers are in good shape, “they both seem healthy, happy and active youngsters. They had a mild case of non-contagious demodex mange when they arrived but this is mostly resolved and should not be a problem in the future as long as they are getting good nutrition and overall care in a clean and safe environment.”

Jeffrey and Jermaine are like a DVD bundle of Babe and Babe: Pig in the City. You want one, you gotta get the other one. Unlike the forced DVD bundling of Babe and Babe: Pig in the City, this is a good thing. Why would you ever split these guys up? Operation Ava says that while they have received a lot of interest, they’re still taking applications from people who can actually come and meet the dogs in person before adopting them. Here’s hoping they find a nice, new home!

More info: Operation Ava, WCAU, The Philadelphia Inquirer