St. Paul man on a mission to walk blind, deaf dog on every bridge in Twin Cities

18-year-old dog finds joy on bridge visits

On a warm summer day, there is nothing better than getting outside to go for a walk. But for Abe Switters, it's more than just exercise. He's building a bridge to a better life for his dog Nanna.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - On a warm summer day, there is nothing better than getting outside to go for a walk. But for Abe Switters, it's more than just exercise. He's building a bridge to a better life for his dog, Nanna.

Meet Nanna

"Nanna, when she is home she is primarily sleeping. So when she gets out and gets this big goofy smile on her face and just seeing her body relax and have fun. She doesn't really have that fun inside the house," said Switters.

Not only is Nanna 18 years old, she is also blind and deaf. While walking on a bridge over Minnehaha Falls a few months ago, Switters says Nanna stopped dead in her tracks, even though she couldn't see the view.

"It was the first time I realized she liked the feeling of wind on her face when she is high up. It was pretty instant. I was like I have to take her to every bridge I can," said Switters.

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A new bridge every week

So once a week, Nanna and Switters visit a different bridge around the Twin Cities.

"Wabasha. Roberts Street. High Bridge. We did the Lake Street Marshall Bridge the other day. The Stone Arch, of course," said Switters.

So far, they've hit about a dozen bridges and Nanna isn't showing any signs of slowing down.

"At 18 years old, we're always fighting against the clock on that one, so we try to go as much as possible," said Switters.

Nanna may like to feel the wind on her face, but her life has been anything but a breeze.

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Background

She and Switters crossed paths for the first time in Nashville where Switters used to live back in 2021, after Nanna was dropped off at an animal shelter suffering from years of neglect.

"Most of her hair had fallen out. She was half the weight she is now. It was one of the worst off dogs I'd ever seen in my life," said Switters.

Nanna was only supposed to live three to four months, but Switters decided to adopt her to give her the best life possible during the time she had left.

"The first goal was to see if she could walk around the block. It took a couple of weeks. The next was a mile. It took a couple of months. Nine months after I got her, she did her first 5k and just never looked back from there," said Switters.

Gradually, Nanna's hair grew back and she gained weight from their daily walks, but her eyes had to be removed a few months ago.

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Otherwise, Switters says she's doing better than ever, regularly going on 10k runs with him.

"For the first two years, I planned on her passing away at any time. Now that it's been 3 1/2 years, I don't really plan for that anymore because I don't think she's going to leave us anytime soon," said Switters.

Switters says he has a soft spot for underdogs because he was once one himself.

He owned a dog named Mr. Puckett while he struggled with addiction and experienced homelessness, but Mr. Puckett died soon after Switters got back on his feet.

"All the things I wasn't able to do with Mr. Puckett because of my own addictions and problems, I could kind of give back to this dog and give her the life he really deserved," said Switters.