She had to earn her way there. The basement of the house is split level, and she exclusively lived on the ground level for the first few weeks, making no effort to come up to the kitchen area. Bonnie would make an attempt at her own pace, so Pombeiro didn’t push it. Wookie, her big brother, was right there to guide her.
“She’d go a couple of steps and then lose confidence and walk back down,” Pombeiro explained. Then one day, a friend dropped by. Bonnie raced all the way up to see her as they were speaking in the kitchen because of something in her friend’s voice.
Pombeiro explained, “I’d sit at the top or bottom of the steps and just talk to her.” Wookie would run up and down the stairs as if he was showing her what to do.”It was really adorable!”
The four-year-old special-needs dog warmed up right away to Wookie. He is always there to take her on walks, and they like taking naps and playing together. She went on: “Bonnie is amazing; you’d never think she’s blind.” She paints a room, accidentally bumps into things, learns where they are, and then never returns.
Bonnie uses the stairs frequently now that she has overcome her phobia of them. But with Wookie by her side, it’s more likely. The only thing she trusts is the bell they put on Wookie’s collar to let her know where he is. She follows him around the house and sits next to him, almost on top of him.
