Blind pitbull helps recovering addicts cope

Stevie the blind pit bull and therapy dog

Stevie the 'Wonder Dog' is a 2-1/2-year-old blind pitbull who overcame his disability to become a certified therapy dog and breed ambassador.

Currently Stevie helps dozens of men and women cope with their addictions. With his friendly nature, he inspires and comforts the people he visits at the America Detox Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"Stevie greets each of them and offers his love. For him, it is just what he does, but for the residents, it's a break in routine and a positive connection to the outside world," says his owner Jen Milner.

One man at the center says: "Stevie has a disability like us, so he shows us that we can get along in life just like he does. If a blind dog can make it... it gives me hope that we can make it."

"His affection is so genuine you can't help but feel more relaxed and a little better about your day," says another man.

Jan Milner says having him become a service dog was something she definitely wanted to pursue. It took a little while longer to process his paper work because of his blindness, but once he was registered, he and Jan got to work volunteering right away.

Now the good-natured pitbull takes his unique brand of therapy everywhere he goes. "Stevie sees the good in everyone. It just comes naturally to him," says Jen.

Comments on this Article

Stevie just goes to show you that Pit Bulls are not the natural born aggressors so many people think. Again, as in the past with Rottweiler’s, Dobie’s, even German Shepherds people get it in their minds that they are aggressive natural born killers and the dogs are doomed from birth, when it’s the owner’s fault and not the animal at all. This wonderful creature could have been put down when he was born in several states, simply for being a Pit Bull and just think what a tremendous loss that would have been.

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