Deaf Dog Awareness Week. Yes, really.

     Since last month was National Deaf Dog Awareness Week (Spetemebr 21-27, 2014), I thought I would reflect on how deaf dogs have affected my life . . .  Wow.  Where to begin?

 

 

If you've read this blog, you know the beginning of my work with deaf dogs: it all started with a dog named Dhalia, who is completely deaf and blind. She was adopted by a friend of mine, and I was asked to help with training her.

Dhalia

 I became thoroughly entranced, and this fascination with Dhalia led me to search for my own deaf and blind dog to train, and I adopted Lottie Moon. Lottie came to live with me in February 2012, and from that day on, my life has never been the same. Lottie's multiple handicaps are in reality, not handicaps at all. She is happy and bold and fearless and relentlessly determined. She can do anything my other dogs can do. And she is an inspiration to me every single day. After adopting Lottie, I was contacted by a local rescue who knew about by blind/deaf girl, because they had a deaf aussie that needed a home. I took in little Hope, and eventually I found her a wonderful, loving home to call her own. About this time, Dhalia's owner was hatching her idea for a rescue specializing in blind/deaf dogs, and Speak for the Unspoken was born (www.speakfortheunspoken.com). This was the perfect outlet for me to foster, transport, educate and promote the amazing abilities and wonderful, joyful temperaments of these unfortunate outcasts of the dog world, deaf and/or blind double merle dogs. Speak has saved hundreds of dogs in almost two years, and it has been a joy and an honor to be part of such a beautiful cause.




  Along the way, I have fostered many, and welcomed 3 more deaf dogs into my family: Keebler the Chihuahua, Kimber the Aussie, and Spring the Border Collie.

Keebler

Spring

Kimba

  When a friend commented to me one day that deaf dogs would not be able to be competitive in agility, I decided I had to prove him wrong, and I started my search for a talented deaf border collie. I found my beautiful, crazy nut Spring, and brought her home to Ohio from a breeder in Texas (http://deafdogsrock.com/springs-happy-tail). I wanted a training challenge, and I certainly found it in Spring (www.facebook.com/starringspring).




















 Because of the deaf dogs in my life, whether permanent family members, or merely passing through on their way to their new lives, deaf dogs have made me a better trainer (http://www.naturalawakeningsmag.com/Natural-Awakenings/March-2014/Dog-Scouts-of-America/) (http://deafdogsrock.com/introducing-your-new-dog-to-your-pack), and more importantly, a better person. I will never be as quick to judge, as quick to assume, as quick to condemn, as I was before deaf dogs entered my world. I have recently started teaching deaf dog obedience classes, and in October I will start teaching deaf dog agility classes  (www.skydogs.org)

 I have seen so much prejudice against deaf dogs that is completely unfounded, and my goal is to continue to work to enlighten as many people as possible that deaf dogs are not to be pitied, not to be feared, but to celebrated and cherished. Deaf Dogs Totally Rock!