Blind bison close to having new home

The public has seen to it that a 14-year-old blind bison will have a new home and its adoring owner will get unlimited visiting rights. Pun intended.

Earlier this week, the Statesman Journal published the first story about the plight of Helen Keller, a female bison who has been blind from birth and lives just north of Salem.

Her owner, Lisa Miller, has been distraught of late because a 2011 traffic accident has left her with continuing and mounting medical bills and the physical inability to care for her animal, whom she calls "Sissy." Miller had feared that she would not be able to find a suitable home for the bison that is close enough for Miller to visit regularly, and help ease the beast's transition and lessen its anxiety.

Statesman Journal readers saw the problem and responded with solutions. Within hours of the story being published, at least a dozen people with viable homes for Helen called the paper, eager to give the bison a peaceful place to spend her remaining years.

Not one made a buffalo-burger joke.

Because the animal has made its way around Miller's small pasture all these years using Lisa's voice and a variety of classical and easy-listening music to orient herself to her barn, it has been depressing for Miller to lock the animal out of its shelter because the barn floor rotted through. She worried about hoof rot if she had to leave the animal exposed for another winter in her pasture, which often floods during the rainy season.

RELATED STORY: Blind bison Helen Keller needs a new home on the range

Wayne Geiger, president of the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary in Scio, read the story and knew he could help. He was among the first callers offering Miller hope.

The sanctuary on Richardson Gap Road, which provides homes to formerly abused and neglected farm animals, would be the perfect place for Helen, Geiger said.

"We even have the experience this bison needs," he said. "We used to have a blind cow here named Stevie Wonder, so we know all about dealing with these types of issues."

There were additional offers from residents with land and shelter on Abiqua and Hazelgreen roads in Silverton, both not too far from Miller, as well as from families in South Salem and the Aumsville and Stayton area who generously volunteered their pastures and shelters to care for Helen as long as she lived. There also were inquiries from Napa Valley, Calif., Utah and Idaho.

All gave the same pitch: they had a flat pasture, had adequate or even luxurious barns, and there was plenty of room to roam. Many expressed long-held desires to own a bison. Some offered anonymously to help with transportation expenses or talk to tribal representatives to see if they'd be interested in taking the bison.

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Miller has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of help, and hopes to get out this week to inspect the property of the top contenders. She is grateful to the many people who have expressed an interest in adopting her Helen.

"It's just better than I could ever have hoped for," Miller said.

ccurrie@statesmanjournal.com; (503) 399-6746 or follow on Twitter at @CATMCurrie