A blind dog that was dumped when he was just five-months-old has been voted the UK’s RSPCA Dog of the Year.

Bullmastiff Oliver fought off stiff competition from five other short-listed rescue dogs, taking 23% of people’s votes.

Oliver was thrown out onto the street by a dog breeder when he was a puppy because he had an eye infection. A dog warden caught him just before Christmas 2005. The animal was thin, distressed and in severe pain from his eye.

Despite veterinary treatment, the infection spread and Oliver ended up losing his sight, and one of his eyes was removed.

But his luck changed when, after reading his story in a local paper, Julie Harkess and her family decided to offer him a home in Houghton-Le-Spring, Durham.

Now two years old, a much-happier Oliver even has a special artificial implant in his one remaining eye to give him a normal appearance.

Julie, 38, said: ‘Oliver has been through so much but he’s made such good progress that we forget he’s blind.

’No matter how down we might feel, Oliver always lifts our spirits.’

Oliver will receive a host of prizes including a year’s supply of dog food, pet insurance and will get to star on the front cover of magazine Dogs Today.

Sky News
18 Nov 07

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