Top Fives

When I'm out and about with Ray, I tend to get asked the same questions over and over again. I don't mind because, like everyone else, I love to talk about my dog. But I started thinking about some of the usual and unusual questions that I've had about him. So here are two lists, the top five questions that I get asked about Ray and the top five weirdest questions that I've had about Ray,

Top Five Questions People Ask About Ray

1. "What kind of dog is that?" or "What kind of hound is that?"
2. "Is he TOTALLY blind?" (in the interests of full disclosure, I always give the long answer. Fully detached retina in one eye, mostly detached retina in the other. The one that is still attached in one spot is deformed. Judging from what I've seen at home and at the dog park, Ray can see dark shapes best, especially if they are moving and if they don't get any farther than 4 or 5 feet from him. If they aren't moving or get too far away, he doesn't do so well.)
3. "Has he ALWAYS been blind?" (this one gets an "awwwww" or a "well, at least he doesn't know any better." I reply to the latter, "That's right, he doesn't know he's blind and we don't tell him."
4. "How old is he?" (the answer to this one always gets an "awwwww," when they find out that he's a young dog and not an old geez that has gone blind. In my estimation the old dog that's going blind is a sadder case because they don't know what's happening to them.)
5. "Does he make that noise at home?" (this one always gets asked with a look of horror on their faces. Thankfully, I am able to answer in the negative.)

Top Five Funniest/Weirdest Questions People have Asked About Ray

1. "Is he NORMAL?" I blogged about this one a couple weeks ago so it is still fresh in my mind and, I think, my favorite because it seemed so random at the time. (blog link http://www.raytheblinddog.com/2010/05/is-he-normal.html )
2. "Does he have brain damage?" (asked by someone at the dog park who had been watching Ray run randomly around. When I told them he was blind they said "That was my second guess.)
3. "How do you take him for a walk?" (answer: "I hook a leash to his collar, and he leads me outside and down the street." The reply, "He LEADS????? My response, "Well, I tried for the first 8 months to get him to heel but it didn't work out so well, so NOW he leads. I got tired."
4. "Does he skateboard?" (asked by someone who saw his lymph node impaired leg, noticed the swelling and thought maybe his muscles were bigger in that leg. I think they were joking.)
5. "Do you think he's faking it?" (asked about his blindness by my friend, Joanne, when I was complaining about him finding and stealing my yarn, no matter where I put it down. She was joking, of course, but it really got me thinking....)