A puppy who was born with one eye smaller than the other has won over an adopter – despite his unusual condition.
Albi was born with Microphthalmia – a condition where one or both of the eyes are small – and RSPCA staff launched a special appeal to find him a home.
Albi’s mum – a shih tzu cross called Luna – was taken in by the RSPCA’s Danaher Animal Home*, in Essex, in May 2024 after being rescued by the local council as a stray.
The two-year-old was checked over by a vet who discovered she was pregnant.
Danaher Manager Sam Garvey said: “Poor Luna was in an awful state and we soon realised that she was also pregnant.
“Two of our animal care assistants – Franki and Dilan – spent a lot of time with her and fell in love with her. She was really stressed and unsettled in kennels so they took her home to help her rest before her pups arrived.
“Then, on 25 June, Luna hopped up onto Franki’s bed and gave birth to five puppies – we were only expecting four so that was a surprise!
“Albi was the third puppy to arrive and while he’s always been the biggest and noisiest puppy, he was the last to open his eyes. When his eyes first opened it wasn’t initially obvious that he had Microphthalmia but after a few days we noticed that his right eye looked different.”
Albi was taken to see the vet who diagnosed him with Microphthalmia – meaning ‘small eye’ – which is caused when the eye doesn’t develop properly inside the mother’s womb.
Franki Ryan – who fostered Luna and the puppies alongside her colleague and sister, Dilan Ryan – said: “We’d noticed that Albi was loud and would often struggle to find the other pups when they were having free time running around our lounge.
“Sometimes he can lose his balance, run into things and will sit facing the wrong direction, away from his siblings.
“Then we spotted that his other eye – which is of normal size – doesn’t quite look in the right direction. The vet believes this is likely a distortion of his healthy eye and that he may well be partially sighted or completely blind so it’s something we’ll need to monitor going forwards.”
Due to Albi’s pure white colouring, vets also suspect he may also have some extent of hearing loss, too.
Sam added: “We launched an online appeal to find Albi a home with someone who would be able to see past his medical issues and offer home somewhere safe and loving while he grows, with someone who can cope with any challenges he has with his sight and hearing when we know the full extent of it.
“The appeal was so successful that we’ve managed to find wonderful new homes for Albi and all of his siblings – Trip, Rex, June and Gizmo – and their mum, Luna, has also had a fabulous new home who have been patiently waiting for her while she takes care of the pups.”
