Cat Named Truffles Shows Kids That Wearing Glasses Is No Big Deal

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Dr. Danielle Crull of A Child’s Eyes in Mechanicsburg, PA has committed her career to helping kids. She’s an optician who specializes in fitting infants through teens with new glasses. She’s seen first-hand how hesitant kids can be when it’s time to try out their new eye wear, and she’s enlisted her best furry friend to help patients feel comfortable wearing glasses. Dr. Crull’s two-year-old cat named Truffles works in her office and does a lot of good for all of her young patients.

Truffles shows kids that wearing glasses is no big deal.

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A post shared by Truffles (@truffles_the_kitty) on Jul 11, 2018 at 5:14am PDT

Dr. Crull first found Truffles living as a stray. She fell in love with the fluffy kitten, and they’ve been together ever since. Early on in their relationship, Dr. Crull noticed that Truffles was extremely smart. She was smarter than any other cat she knew, so she started teaching Truffles tricks. It started off with simple things, like high fives and fist bumps. And as Truffles easily mastered each new skill, Dr. Crull got an idea.

One of her biggest challenges at work was making nervous kids feel more comfortable wearing their glasses. If she could find a way to connect with her patients and show them that glasses were harmless, she knew she could help a lot of kids. She thought Truffles would be perfect for that job, and she was right. Dr. Crull told Fox10,

I wondered if I could get her to wear a pair of glasses because that would be really great for kids to see, that would make them feel more comfortable. Because obviously, in this business, some kids come in and they’re fine. But we do get a lot of really shy, scared kids–and especially if their parents don’t wear glasses, it’s very foreign to them.

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A post shared by Truffles (@truffles_the_kitty) on Oct 28, 2019 at 5:39am PDT

It wasn’t hard to teach Truffles to wear glasses.

Dr. Crull treated her cat just like any of her other patients and fitted her with a pair of hot pink glasses designed for premature babies. When Truffles was perfectly comfortable wearing her new eye wear, she started going into work with her human. She’s been a big hit with patients of all ages. Kids automatically connect with the fluffy feline assistant and love seeing her wear her glasses with pride. The kids watch as Truffles sits calmly while Dr. Crull puts on her glasses, and they can’t stop smiling when the cute cat waves hello or gives them a high five.

When Dr. Crull is helping a particularly nervous child, she’ll say something like,

Would you like to see Truffle’s glasses? Truffles loves her glasses! And now Truffles wants to see your glasses!

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A post shared by Truffles (@truffles_the_kitty) on Sep 25, 2018 at 3:53am PDT

Dr. Crull has found that Truffles behaves a lot like her human patients.

When the cat grew out of her first pair of glasses and needed an upgrade, Dr. Crull found it wasn’t easy to make the switch. Like many kids, Truffles had grown attached to her cute pink glasses, and she resisted the new green frames. Truffles finally agreed to accept her new specs once Dr. Crull decorated them with gemstones. The cat’s reaction and process of acceptance was caught on video, and now Dr. Crull uses that video to show parents and kids why moving on to a second pair of glasses is sometimes harder than wearing glasses for the first time.

Truffles takes away some of the stress and mystery that a lot of kids experience when they go to the eye doctor. Not only does she wear glasses, Dr. Crull also taught her how to wear an eye patch and identify shapes used in children’s eye exams.The kids benefit from following Truffle’s lead, and Dr. Crull says Truffles gets just as much out of her work. The friendly cat loves interacting with the kids and their parents. And she also loves the treats that come after a good minute’s work. Truffles has been a big hit in the office, and she’s helping countless kids.