Pandora

According to Wikipedia, the phrase "to open Pandora's box" means to perform an action that may seem small or innocuous, but that turns out to have severe and far-reaching consequences.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by someone about a deaf Boxer named Luna who needed rescue. I already had several deaf foster dogs and a few more waiting to come in, so my first inclination was to say that I was unable to help. However the dog was a three-year-old purebred Boxer who sounded perfect. We have several people in our rescue group who love Boxers, and she sounded like a very easy dog to place into a home (already being perfect) so I decided I would go ahead and take her and then maybe find another foster home for her with one of the foster parents who love Boxers, or just keep her until she was adopted. She was said to already be spayed so she wouldn’t have to wait several weeks until our vet could spay her, and she was supposed to be dog, cat and kid friendly. She was also supposed to be well-socialized meaning she should adjust to a new situation easily because she’d been exposed to lots of new situations as a puppy. So I made arrangements with the person to have her brought to an adoption event where I would be that Saturday.

Two days later, I received an e-mail from a rescue friend asking me to help with a four-year-old female Boxer who needed a new home. I often receive requests for help with deaf dogs, but the requests are usually spaced weeks or months apart. I’ve also only received one request for a purebred Boxer ever – most requests are for mixed breeds or pit bull breeds -- so it seemed like a very strange coincidence to get two requests within the same week for a female purebred Boxer. The deaf Boxer named Luna who I had already agreed to take had also been posted all over Facebook asking for someone to rescue or adopt her, so it seemed likely it was the same dog. However I explained to my rescue friend that I had already committed to another deaf Boxer and explained the situation. I said I couldn’t take her if it was a different Boxer but if it was the same Boxer and there were just multiple people trying to help this dog then I could take her. She confirmed with the person she’d been talking to that it was the same dog, named Luna, and I made arrangements to pick her up on Sunday. When no one showed up at the adoption event on Saturday with a Boxer, I figured it was definitely the same dog and the plans to get her to me had just changed based on the rescuers involved.

The plan was for the owners to turn in Luna to their vet on Saturday, and then I’d drive out to the vet’s house and pick her up on Sunday. The veterinarian and her husband also did animal rescue, so I was a bit surprised to receive a call from them on Saturday asking what time I could get there on Sunday. I spoke with the vet’s husband and he sounded a bit anxious to get her out of the house and said he wasn’t used to deaf dogs and couldn’t communicate with her well. I thought that was a bit odd, because deaf dogs are really no different than hearing dogs and shouldn’t be any harder to communicate with, but I thought perhaps he just wasn’t used to big dogs. So I drove to his house with a friend to get Luna and was surprised to hear the report from the vet and his wife. They said that the dog was a bit cage aggressive and a bit out of control. That didn’t sound like the dog that I was expecting. Then they said the dog was named Valentine, not Luna. And that she wasn’t spayed. That also surprised me. But there are always mix-ups when communicating through three or four different people so I didn’t worry too much. I figured the dog was deaf and doesn’t care whether I call her Luna or Valentine. Then we began the long drive home.

Luna/Valentine started out just fine in the car. She was very sweet. She let me put a seat-belt harness on her. She sat quietly. Then I started the car. And suddenly Luna was in the front seat sitting on my friend’s lap and the seatbelt harness was still in the back seat. After trying to tighten it and keep it on her several times we gave up on that. She was quiet and happy to sit on my friend’s lap until we hit the main road where we encountered other vehicles on the road. Then she jumped in the back seat and began barking. And if you’ve never heard a deaf dog bark, be happy. Because they usually have a high-pitched and extremely loud bark, and Luna/Valentine was no exception. She barked at every car that came up behind us on the road. So I tried to drive faster. Then she barked at every car we passed. It was a busy highway and it was not a fun trip. We had to make a stop at a dog training facility and she continued her excited barking and lunging and aggressive behavior on leash with every dog and person that she met there.

By the time we got home, we were all exhausted. I gave her some time to calm down and after a nap she seemed to be feeling better. I took her outside and since I remembered how the vet said she had jumped their four-foot fence, I put her in the side yard where I could stay close and watch her to make sure she didn’t try to jump the wire fence. She did okay for a few minutes, then walked over to the side of the house where the fence meets a five-foot concrete wall. And from a standing position (no running start) she jumped directly up in the air and over the concrete wall. She seemed very happy then, running all over exploring and inviting me to chase her. And since chasing a dog who loves to be chased is not the fastest or easiest way to catch them, I went into the house and left the door open. She then did some more exploring. I then went back out and hid from her. I waited until she noticed me hiding and then I turned around and ran away, acting like I was trying to keep her from noticing me. Her curiosity got the better of her and she chased me right into the house and I quickly slammed the door. Whew. Next step – contact those other Boxer-loving foster homes at once!

Over the next few days I learned a few things about Pandora. Because by this time neither Luna or Valentine seemed appropriate, but Pandora seemed quite fitting as a name. She got very anxious when in a crate. She marked in the house several times. During brief introductions with several other friendly dogs, she jumped on most of them and held them down to show them that she was boss. She chased the cat. She jumped over the six-foot wooden privacy fence (this time I had to lure her into the car with the offer of a car ride to catch her). She believed she was Queen of the Universe and couldn’t understand why no one treated her that way. I finally contacted the first rescuer I had talked to – the one who was friends of the family who turned her in – and asked if this was really the same dog she’d claimed to know was such a perfect dog. That’s when she told me that the dog I had wasn’t Luna, and Luna had been re-homed directly to an adopter so didn’t need rescue. And suddenly it all made sense. There were two deaf Boxers and nothing I had been told matched up because I had been expecting Luna not Pandora.

Pandora has come a long way in the past week. She now is feeling so comfortable that although another foster home offered to take her, I decided not to move her because she is doing so well. She’s getting along with all the other dogs now and even is doing okay with the cat. She has not had any more accidents or tried to mark in the house, and I’ve been leaving her loose in the house when I’m at work and overnight with no problems. Well she did eat my windowsill and doorframe when I tried to put her in a room by herself, but as long as the Queen of the Universe is allowed to roam the house at will she has not destroyed anything else. And she’s even stopped jumping the fence! So while she may not be the easy adoption that I had hoped for, I do think she’ll be easy enough to foster until she does find the right home. And in the meantime, she’s made herself quite comfortable:

Eeyore Has Returned

A few months ago I fostered a deaf white pit bull named Eeyore.  Eeyore always looks a bit gloomy and depressed, which is why I named him after one of my favorite Winnie the Pooh characters. 

Eeyore was quickly adopted, but was just recently returned due to being too overwhelming with the small children in the home.  At only ten months old, Eeyore is still a puppy and doesn't quite know how big or how strong he really is.  He doesn't seem happy to be back, and I can't really blame him. 



"Thanks for noticin' me."

These pictures are from the first time Eeyore was at my house.  He gets along well with the other dogs for the most part, but I think he'll be happier in a home with fewer dogs.  Maybe.


"One can't complain. I have my friends. Someone spoke to me only yesterday."

 He also isn't used to being crated, and is used to sleeping in bed with his people, and having someone home with him 24 hours a day.  So he's having a hard time adjusting to life in a foster home, where he doesn't get the attention he's used to and he is crated for long periods.  It's a better situation than a shelter, but it's not a real home.  I hope he finds his forever home soon!

Catching Up

Between the holidays and recovering from a cold, I have fallen way behind. So here's a quick update on everyone, and going forward I will do my best to keep up with new pictures and stories!

When I last posted, I had ten dogs at my house. As of right now, I still have ten, but not the same ten! I still have Lacey and her five puppies, now named Nike (chocolate female), Puma (smallest black female), Buster Brown (black male), Teva (yellow female), and Avia (largest black female). The puppies continue to be brilliant and extremely advanced for their age of less than five weeks old! They already have distinct personalities. Nike is the most vocal and demanding - she's like the big sister to the rest. Puma is the quiet one, content to sit back and watch what is going on. Buster Brown is the sweet one who is the most affectionate of the bunch. Teva is the adorable one who likes to be in the middle of whatever is going on, and Avia is the hungry one who is always first to the food bowl! The pups are growing quickly and new pictures will be coming soon.

Ziggy is still at my house. He's almost completely destroyed his bachelor pad, including destuffing the dog bed, finding and eating several dewormer pills (20 times the dose he should have had - of course it had no effect on him), and managing to burn out every lightbulb except one. I'm not sure how he pulled that last one off, but I'm sure it was something he did. He received a wonderful Christmas gift from Blueberry's human, and I'll tell you all about it as soon as I download the pictures off of my camera.

Lucky the deaf dog is also still at my house. He actually went out on a trial adoption. It lasted a week, which is seven days longer than I expected. He was returned for wanting to eat the bird, among other things. Poor Lucky isn't having the best luck. Fortunately the bird was uninjured.

Allie the extremely energetic Akita mix was also adopted. She's currently on day 5 of the trial period. This is 5 days longer than I expected! If there is any dog out there that needs a home (besides Ziggy), Allie is the one. So I am praying that this trial adoption works out... and I'm considering changing my phone number just to be sure. Just kidding.

Natasha the extremely-obsessed-with-me Poodle mix also is out on a trial adoption. She has a lot better chance of success, but being that she's in a home where I don't live, there's no guarantee. This is the dog that has gone to two different homes for at least three weeks each, then come back to me and never even looked back at her previous caretaker. And yet if I take two steps away from her at an adoption event, she goes nuts. It's kind of scary.

On the other hand, Libby the deaf JRT sees me at an adoption event and looks right through me.  She's still at another foster home, where her foster mom reports she gets the same treatment.  This does not make it easy for Libby to get adopted since she ignores anyone and everyone equally, but at least it makes me feel better that it isn't just me that she treats this way.  And it sort of balances out Natasha's behavior. 

Trooper the Black Lab I found on the side of the road is back at my house now too.  He's recovered from his broken spine due to being hit by a car, and he is now available for adoption.  Trooper is a good dog and gets along with everyone except Lucky, so currently I have to keep Ziggy, Lucky, and Trooper apart from each other at all times. 

The only other dog that Trooper didn't get along with was another deaf white dog named Ozzie.  I temporarily fostered him for a few days, and Trooper and Ozzie became mortal enemies during this time.  Ozzie is a Westie mix we think, and he's the cutest little dog who is a typical terrier and willing to take on dogs three times his size.  He is now back in his original foster home and I have to admit I miss the little guy!  He is available for adoption and hopefully will find a forever home soon! 

I also have another male foster dog named Jax.  Jax was adopted out as a puppy and recently returned because he didn't do well with children.  Since Ozzie also didn't like Jax, Jax came to my house instead of going back to his original foster home.  I really like Jax - he's friendly and well-behaved and happy and easygoing and smart.  He gets along with all the other dogs too.  I'm going to take his picture one of these days and get him up on the website so he can get adopted.  Sometime soon. 

As if these five adults and five puppies weren't enough, I recently received some sad news that two of my previous foster dogs are being returned.  The first is Nosey, the blind Beagle puppy I fostered in October.  The family who adopted him have to move out of state into an apartment that doesn't allow dogs, so Nosey, now named Radar, will be coming back to me sometime soon.  The other return is Bogey, the very shy dog.  He has been in a foster-to-adopt situation for two months but the foster family finally decided that another dog would be a better fit for their home. So Bogey returns on Saturday.  In an ironic twist, I just realized that the same blog post where I introduced Bogey last February, I also announced Allie's original adoption.  Now I'm announcing Bogey's return and Allie's second potential adoption almost one year after that original post. 

If you've managed to read this far, thanks for hanging in there, and I promise to provide shorter posts in the future, along with more pictures.  You're welcome. 

My Week

It has been a crazy week, and I haven’t had time to take any pictures or write any blog posts. Here’s what I’ve been doing instead:


Adoptions
On Saturday, I started out with eight foster dogs. By the end of the day, I was down to four foster dogs. Hope the Black Lab mix puppy was adopted. Also Dolly the deaf Shih Tzu mix puppy was adopted. Connor the Chiweenie went to his new foster home. And best of all, Thor the German Shepherd Dog went to his foster-to-adopt home. He has the best new family. They rescue and foster senior German Shepherds, and are planning to adopt Thor once he is done with his surgery!

New Fosters
Twinkie and Trixie were two of the dogs were rescued from the hoarding situation. They’ve been at another foster home until last weekend. That’s when Trixie went into heat. Since we’re not able to get the dogs spayed or neutered until the court case is resolved, we had to get Trixie away from the other male dogs that were also rescued from the property. That meant that she had to come to my house. And since we didn’t want her to be alone, I took Twinkie too.  

Trixie



Twinkie

 Coordinating Transports
I generally rescue dogs from my immediate area, but since I really enjoy working with deaf dogs, I will sometimes take in dogs from out of the area. Right now there is a deaf six-month-old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix named Axle in Ohio that needs help, and a deaf pit bull mix named Revelie in Kansas City that needs help. I’ve been trying to coordinate getting Axle here, which has been a huge headache. However another rescue group – WonderWeims Rescue – is going to be driving to Ohio to pick up another dog next weekend and they’ve very kindly offered to bring back Axle for me too. So hopefully that will all work out and Axle will arrive safely next weekend. Revelie is scheduled to arrive tomorrow sometime, although exact details are still pending.

Writing a Guest Post
I am a big fan of the Deaf Dogs Rock website, and was recently asked to write a guest post about fostering for them. I wrote this post. I left out the warnings about how foster pets may decide to eat the house. I didn’t think that would help convince anyone to foster.

Hopefully the upcoming week will be a bit calmer and I will have a chance to take pictures and tell you all about the new fosters.  As always, thanks for reading!

Introducing Grace, Hope, Sophie, Dolly and Conner

I've taken in just a few (ahem) new foster dogs recently, and decided I'd better introduce them to you before they all get adopted. 
 

Grace



First meet Hope and Grace.  Five puppies were found running loose in a county with no animal control.  All Paws Rescue took them in, and eventually the two girls ended up at my house.  Grace has already been adopted, and the other three puppies she came in with have also found homes.  This just leaves Hope, who is still Hoping to find her very own home soon! 

Hope



These puppies are extremely well behaved, considering that they are puppies.  I don't think Hope has had even one accident in the house since the day I brought her home.  And she's very smart!  Whomever adopts her is going to be very pleased - unless they're looking for a challenge in which case they will no doubt be disappointed. 


 

Sophie



Next came Sophie.  Sophie is a seven year old St. Bernard.  She was at an animal control facility for several months without being adopted, so when I had room, she came home with me.  Sophie has perfect house manners.  She never has accidents, never chews anything up, and is calm and laid back.  This is one of the advantages to adopting an older dog!  She gets along well with the other dogs and the cats, and lately she and Lucky have become good buddies.  In spite of being seven years old, she still loves to run and play!

Dolly

Then there are my two newest foster dogs that I just picked up last night.  Several weeks ago another animal rescuer named Tracee had asked if I could help with some very shy dogs.  I told her I currently had several dogs and was still working with Bogey so I wouldn't be able to take on another shy dog for awhile.  Since I had not met Tracee before, I made sure to tell her how much I loved working with deaf dogs, so if she came across any needing help she would be able to give people my contact information.  I didn't know it at the time, but Tracee had a deaf foster dog right then.  When she told me about the dog, named Dolly, and asked if I would be interested in working with her, I jumped at the chance.  Although pit bulls are my favorite breed, I absolutely love the look of scruffy dogs, and Dolly was one of the cutest I've ever seen.  So yes, you can call me shallow, but I totally wanted to foster this dog because she was the cutest deaf dog ever.  Tracee warned me she was a spitfire, but said she had no real problems like fear or aggression.  I told her that after working with Ziggy, I felt confident working with just about any dog. 



Dolly does a play bow

I suppose you can guess what happened as a result.  I meet Tracee to get Dolly, and as Tracee's husband hands her over, Dolly goes wild and starts struggling and biting at me to get away.  Oh yes, she was a spitfire.  I quickly placed her back onto her foster dad's lap and told him "why don't you just go ahead and put her in the travel crate".  I wasn't feeling so confident right then! 

Fortunately once Dolly got home, she quickly settled down and has decided to let me pet her and pick her up without feeling the need to bite me again.  Her fur is so soft, and she's extremely loving and playful.  She does great with all the other dogs, except Lucky who she's not allowed to be around because he seems to think she might be a chew toy.  Right now she's playing with my other newest foster dog. 



Conner the Chiweenie



Conner is my unexpected, and very temporary foster.  When I talked to Tracee to arrange to get Dolly, she told me about a Chiweenie (Chihuahua/Dashchund mix) puppy who needed rescue.  The puppy was only eight weeks old, and had been given away on the side of a road.  The person who took the puppy was over the pet limit allowed by their area so had to give it away again.  So I told her if she could pick up the dog on her way to meet me, I would take that one too.  Chiweenie puppies are pretty easy to find homes for - small breed dogs are always popular, especially when they're puppies.  So as Tracee approached me with the puppy, I expected to see an eight-week-old Chiweenie.  Instead, Tracee and I both thought that Conner seemed to resemble another, less popular breed of dog.  Those are NOT so easy to place.  We laughed about it, and then I named him Conner (because calling him a Chiweenie seems to be a total con).  But no matter what breed or mix of breeds he is, Conner is absolutely adorable.  He's only staying a couple of days and then he'll be going on to another foster home.  He should be ready for adoption in another couple of weeks!

Lucky Gets His Picture Taken

In order to find a home for a foster dog, you need a good picture of the dog. Many times people will be looking on websites when they’re thinking about adopting, and when someone is faced with pictures of several hundred dogs looking for homes, they will usually skip over the pictures that are blurry, too far away, or otherwise unattractive. I’m not a good photographer by any means, so I usually have to take dozens of pictures just to get a usable one. In Lucky’s case, his online listing still has pictures taken at the shelter he was in before I got him, even though they were taken when he was much younger, just because I have yet to get any good pictures of him. It’s not due to a lack of trying. It’s not even due to camera shyness on his part. I believe it’s due to his idea of a great big joke.

Deaf dogs can be a challenge to take pictures of sometimes, because you can’t make noises to get them to look at the camera. But after taking a few dozen pictures of Lucky while waving at him to get his attention, I finally realized he was only looking intently at the ground whenever I held up the camera and waved.


"I'll just pretend to be sniffing this blade of grass."



"Here she comes with that camera again.  Time for more sniffing."

 Some dogs will sniff the ground as a distraction when they are nervous.  This is called "displacement behavior" and basically they ignore whatever is happening that is making them nervous and focus on sniffing the ground, or another behavior instead.  But I didn't think that's what Lucky was doing.  He showed no other signs of being nervous or unsure, and seemed to think it was a game to look down whenever I tried to get his attention. 

I decided perhaps an action shot would be a better choice. But somehow he managed to run around the yard, playing with Sophie the St. Bernard, without ever once showing his face to the camera.

"Let's run THIS direction!"


In fact, he’d turn practically in mid-air, just to run the opposite direction when he saw me with the camera.


"Here she comes!  Reverse!  Reverse!"

 Finally I realized what was going on.  Like many deaf dogs, Lucky had learned that looking away from a person was a great way to be able to do whatever he wanted without getting in trouble.  After all, he couldn't "hear" me if he didn't see me giving him a hand sign to stop playing, so as long as he didn't look at me, he could keep playing!

I generally don't have this problem with deaf dogs, because I teach them to look at me often - basically to "check in" with me so we don't have this problem.  Usually a dog that is acting this way is one who has been made to do things he didn't want too often, and didn't get enough rewards for doing good things.  So I teach them by giving them big rewards when they do look at me.  Treats, attention, petting, whatever they enjoy, and then I send them right back to what they were enjoying doing in the first place.  This way they learn to look for me on a regular basis when playing with another dog, or before digging in the garden, or whatever else they might be doing.  And mostly they get rewarded and get sent back to continue, but those times when play time is over, or the digging is starting, it's easy to get their attention and redirect them to something else.  Lucky probably didn't know this in his first home, and it may have contributed to why his original owner gave him up - because they got tired of constantly trying to get Lucky's attention and make him do things.  So I'm going to be teaching Lucky that being obedient and "checking in" pays off, but in the meantime, he may not want to look at me when he's doing something fun and fears he'll be forced to stop. 

WARNING: The following photos may be offensive to some. View at your own risk.


So at this point I just waited for him to get tired.  When he was standing in the middle of the yard, alone, with nowhere to hide, I tried again to take his picture. As I waited for the camera to auto-focus, then snapped the picture, this is what I ended up with:

"Excuse me, a little privacy here please?"

Hey, at least he’s finally looking at the camera. I waited a few minutes and decided to try again. Once again, I caught him looking at the camera, but once again it was not quite a pose I could send in to the pet adoption websites.


"That's right, this is MY ball!"

 At this point I gave up and decided that perhaps a video would be a better choice. At first Lucky did his best to run out of the camera range, but then Sophie told him to stop running and start behaving. He tried to convince her that running would be more fun, but eventually he realized she would not change her mind, so he gave up and walked away.

I may never get a good picture of Lucky, but I will keep trying!

My Ziggy Rant

As most of you know, I’ve been fostering Ziggy for two and a half years now. It is more due to a feeling of responsibility (I chose to pull him from the shelter where he was going to be euthanized as a puppy, so I am responsible for his life) than it is because I like having him here. In fact, most people know I would gladly give Ziggy to anyone who would take care of him. I’ve even been known to offer cash rewards to people to take him. Everyone thinks that I love him and I do, but many people also think I’m happy that he’s with me. I’m not. I try so hard to get him a home because he doesn’t fit here and it’s not fair to him or to me that he’s been here for two years. So today, I’m going to not worry about who might read this or what they might think; I’m just going to take this opportunity to whine and feel sorry for myself. I try not to do that often, but after the news from the vet a few days ago, I just can’t help myself.

Puppy Ziggy

For the past two years, I’ve tried to do what the experts suggest when it comes to getting a dog adopted. I’ve promoted Ziggy at every turn, even creating and maintaining his website and Facebook page, and buying him business cards to advertise around town. I’ve tried to stay positive and share all the good things about Ziggy. I’ve tried to make him more adoptable through basic training, working with various professional trainers, earning his CGC, learning tricks, and participating in dog sports. I’ve been honest with potential adopters about his issues, but I haven’t dwelt on them excessively. I know this is true because I constantly hear “I can’t believe he’s not adopted yet” – mostly from people who don’t know him well. I just want to shout “Then you take him!!” But I know they have other dogs, or cats, or children, or breed restrictions, like most of the rest of the world. The truth is, as much as I want him to be, Ziggy is not really adoptable. And since I’m tired of always talking about the good side of Ziggy, today I’m going to break all the rules and tell you about the bad side of Ziggy, and about the reasons that he isn’t adopted yet, and probably never will be.

Basic Hurdles

1. Ziggy is a pit bull – the breed is banned many places.

2. Ziggy is deaf – this makes it more challenging to communicate with him.

3. Ziggy needs to be only pet – most experienced owners have other pets.

4. Ziggy needs an experienced owner due to his behavior issues (see below).

5. Ziggy needs a home with no children – he is not child friendly.

Behavior Issues

1. Ziggy guards food, water, bones, and toys from others. With training, he no longer guards from me, but still guards from all dogs and cats.

2. Ziggy is mouthy, especially when excited. He knows better with me, but sometimes with new people he forgets and tries to grab their hands.

3. Ziggy is a counter surfer. No matter how much we work on this, he still steals food off of countertops whenever he can.

4. Ziggy is demanding. He barks loudly in an attempt to get his way.

5. Ziggy is chewy. He has to stay crated to keep him from chewing furniture, shoes, boxes, TV remotes, or whatever else he can get his mouth on.



Not to mention his drinking problems.



Medical Issues

1. Ziggy has food allergies – he is allergic to almost everything under the sun (and probably a few things in outer space too).

2. Ziggy has grass allergies – he gets red and itchy after lying in the grass, walking on grass, or looking at grass.



"Where's my benadryl?"

And this week at the vet I found out that Ziggy also has a bad knee joint which has ended his agility classes. And when the vet told me that he should avoid stairs and that he needed to be on a glucosamine supplement for the rest of his life, she was really confused when I started laughing hysterically. Because glucosamine supplements aren’t expensive, but it was just one more thing that Ziggy had wrong with him – one more thing that would make him harder to adopt.

My options have not changed. I can keep trying to find him a home, or I can have him euthanized. Please don’t judge me for whatever I decide unless you take Ziggy yourself! Some of you, especially those who rescue, will see the wisdom in giving up and having him euthanized, not only for my own sanity, but also so I can save many, many other dogs in his place. I have other dogs, and I have cats, and he lives in a crate most of his life because he can’t be out around the other animals. It’s not much of a life, and with such a slim chance of him ever being adopted, it’s not much of a future. But those of you who love Ziggy, don’t worry, I’m not at that point yet. I think of that option almost every time I think of Ziggy, which is often, but the truth is I do love him, and I don’t think he is suffering, so I’m not ready or willing to make that decision. I’ll keep doing what I can to make his life happy, and even if he can no longer go on bike rides with me or do agility, we’ll find other ways to spend time together. In the past I’ve contacted many sanctuaries about Ziggy, with no luck, and no other foster home or rescue group has been able or willing to take Ziggy either. So for now I’ll keep trying to find him a home, and keep sharing all the positive things about Ziggy. But I’ll let you in on an inside joke (is it an inside joke if the only person who knows it is me?) Every time I see “Ziggy-the-adoptable-dog” on Facebook, my mind always changes it to “Ziggy-the-unadoptable-dog”. For some reason, that makes me smile.


Please pray harder, Ziggy!



Ziggy's Advertising Campaign

Ziggy has never been accused of being too humble.  In his mind, he’s not “just a dog”, he’s ZIGGY!  So it’s no surprise that he insisted on a “Wall of Fame” on his webpage.  I tried to convince him that nobody likes a braggart, but he refused to listen.  He seems sure that if the rest of the world will just realize how special he is, they will be lining up to adopt him.  Since I absolutely refused to let him brag about the number of common household items that he has chewed up, or the amount of kibble he can eat in one sitting, he had to settle for bragging about his few awards and media appearances.  I said to him – Ziggy, don’t you think listing all the websites that have shared your desire for a home just makes you seem desperate?  But again, he pretended he couldn’t hear me.  So I gave in, and helped Ziggy add a new page to his website.  Now Ziggy is asking me to contact even more blogs and websites to ask for help in sharing his desire for a home.  If you have a blog or website and share Ziggy’s story and his need for a home, please let him know (his e-mail is Ziggy@adoptziggy.com) so he can add it to his list.   Or as he so proudly refers to it – his Wall of Fame.

In Memory of Shelby

Today I lost my girl.  Shelby had several more seizures, and the vet finally said there was nothing more that could be done for her.  She is now at peace - no more suffering.  Everyone who met Shelby seemed to fall in love with her.  She was only three years old, and she had such a short life.  But she brought a lot of joy to others in those three short years.

The first time I saw a picture of Shelby was when someone posted her on my Facebook page.  She was in an animal shelter and they were trying to find a rescue for her because she was deaf.

I didn't fall in love with her right away.  I was nervous about taking in a new dog without being able to evaluate her first, and it didn't help when the lady who transported her to me called to ask if I had a crate because she was awful in the car.  I didn't have a crate, so fashioned a harness for her and hoped for the best.  All the way on the 30 minute drive home, she bounced around as far as she could in her harness and barked constantly at every passing car.  She was so excited, and I was a little bit nervous of her.  After all, a large dog that I had just met was barking in my ear and lunging past me trying to get to any cars that came by.  I wondered what I had gotten myself into.  Then we got home and she calmed down as soon as the car stopped.  I took her inside and introduced her to the other dogs.  She was so easy-going.  A couple of the dogs were being rude and pushy, and she just ignored them.  I was very relieved, since my biggest fear was that she wouldn't do well with the other dogs.

Within a few days, I started getting really attached to Shelby.  It wasn't just that she was such an easy dog to care for, or that she was so affectionate.  It wasn't just because she had one brown eye and one blue eye - a combination I love.  It wasn't even just because she was such a sweet girl and so eager to please.  I couldn't define it, but within a week I was totally in love with her.  I so much wanted for her to have a long, wonderful life.  I connected with Shelby in a way that I do with very few dogs, and having to say good-bye to her today was heartbreaking.  But I am relieved that she is no longer suffering, and I am glad that I got to know her and love her for the short time that she was here.

Shelby 2008 - 2012

Introducing Maggie

I love fostering different breeds of dogs, and on Saturday I brought home my first Old English Sheepdog.  Maggie is a one year old female with one blue eye and one brown eye.  She is deaf, but she is learning some sign language.  I don't think she'll be here long enough for me to teach her very much, because the Old English Sheepdog is pretty rare in this area and I think she'll be adopted quickly.  This is Maggie at her previous owner's home: 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Her owner had to give her up due to a change in family circumstances, and she had Maggie shaved down recently, so now Maggie looks like this:

I wanted to keep her until her hair grew out again, because I love the look of the long hair, but I know that wouldn't be fair to Maggie, so I'll just have to insist that whomever adopts her lets me visit her once her hair is grown out.  That's not too much to ask, right?

Maggie is a very sweet dog - she is great with all the other dogs and good with the cats.  She's fitting in really well around here!

Dog Communication

One of the main ways that dogs communicate with each other, as well as with humans, is through body language.  It's a language that can impart many concepts and emotions, but if humans don't learn to understand it, we can often miss what a dog is trying to tell us.  There are many books and websites that deal with the subject, so I won't bore you with details.  But here is an example of dog body language that we think means one thing and it often means something else:

A dog rolls onto his side and lifts his rear leg as if asking for a belly rub.  If this is a dog that knows you and/or loves belly rubs, that could be precisely what he's saying.  But if it's a dog you don't know well or that you're meeting for the first time, what he may be actually saying is "I'm smaller than you and I don't mean any harm, please don't hurt me."  Unfortunately we often respond to this message by walking straight up to the dog and rubbing their belly, when the polite thing to do is to look away, maybe bend down to make yourself smaller, and encourage the dog with high pitched happy talk that you mean him no harm.  By looming over him and reaching out and touching him you're simply reinforcing to him that you're bigger and meaner than he is, thus scaring him further!  If you wait to pet him until he gets up and comes to you, then you'll have one very happy dog, because you understood him and responded appropriately.  

I took this short video of my foster dogs playing, and it's amazing to see all of the body language that they use to communicate:

What did you see?  I saw some play bows (where a dog bends down on his front legs to communicate he wants to play), some "look aways" (a dog looks away to communicate he means no threat), and at one point, Roxy the brindle pit bull had her hackles raised (hair on the back of her neck stood up).  That was a sign she was too excited and the other dogs sensed it and backed away so it didn't escalate into a fight.  These signs happen so quickly that it's hard to catch in the act!  But note that two of these three dogs are deaf.  Do you think that made any difference in how they communicate? 

I often have luck communicating to a dog that they need to do something (or stop doing something) by whether I look directly at them or look away, move toward them or away, and so on.  I think fostering deaf dogs has helped me to communicate better with hearing dogs as well, because I have learned to rely more on body language which is the natural communication method of dogs.  Do you use body language to communicate with your dogs?

By the way, sometimes deaf dogs also use verbal communication, such as growls or barks, to communicate even though they can't hear.  This photo was taken during the above play session.  I think Ziggy's bark certainly got Roxy's attention!

Update From Noelle

Mom is still busy getting ready to move - she said she found a house for us! - so today she is letting me post, and I am going to answer your questions that you asked from the last time I posted.


Mayziegal said...
Noelle, I had no idea you liked to stand on the coffee table! Isn't that glass slippery? Oh, and I luvs that second picture of you with your ears all magnificent-like. That was after you puts on make-up, right? I'm sorry you got dumped on the streets but it all worked out pretty darn good, huh?

Hi Mayzie! The glass is not at all slippery, unless Merlin someone knocks over a cup of water on it right before you jump up. Thank you for noticing my makeup in that picture - yes, I worked very hard to look that good! And I am very lucky to have been rescued. I know it makes my mom sad that she gets calls about more dogs like me and Ziggy and she has to say no because she doesn't have any more room. So I'm just glad I got here first, and I work hard to make her happy that she rescued me.

This is how you do it.

Kari in WeHo said...
Was it Tripoli who beat you up?

Sigh... I hate to talk about this, but I must admit it. Tripoli the three-legged dog really is a super-dog.  Otherwise a three-legged dog would NEVER have been able to embarrass me that way. He went to another foster home for awhile, but he came back yesterday. Mom hasn't let me be in the same room with him yet, but I made sure to remind him who is boss around here from the other side of the door. Three legs or not, next time I will show no mercy! Oh wait... mom says I have to be nice. Okay, but he better not try to beat me up a second time!

The Booker Man said...
miss noelle,
first off, i looove your name cuz it's my mama's name, too. same spelling and everythingie! :)
second like, how do you stand on the coffee tables and stuff without breaking them? that is super impressive. i think you should give an informational on that.
oh, and don't those twizzlers get stuck in your teethies? that's what my mama always says when she eats them.

Hi Booker Man - Don't worry, standing on tables is easy. You can jump on and off of them and stand on them, at least until your mom or dad notices you. If you're deaf, you even get a few extra seconds of ignoring them since you can pretend you don't notice them yelling and running toward you from across the room. If you time it just right, you can jump off right before they get there so you can act like you don't know what you did wrong and you can get away with doing it over and over. It does help to be deaf though.

I'm pretending not to look at mom.

Oh, and Twizzlers don't get stuck in my teeth, but that's because I practice chewing all the time. It really helps. See the little black pieces of rubber all over the floor in the above picture? That was where I just finished chewing up yet another dog toy - my second one that day. Its all about practicing - you might suggest that to your mom.

Pibble said...
Hi, Noelle- it's great to learn a little more about you. I love your crazy ears! Did you know that I have dogs with crazy ears, too? See, now we have something in common!

Hi Pibble - I didn't know you had dogs with crazy ears! I bet they are super-smart though. I'm pretty sure the height of a dog's ears above his head is directly related to how smart a doggie is. If a bassett hound could teach his ears to stand up in the air, he'd be the smartest dog in the world! Even my mom says she can't argue with that.

Lola said...
Noelle, this is all most interesting. Standing on the coffee table is an unusual hobby, but that's what makes the world go 'round, right? You do seem to be just as lovely as your Mom has always said you are. Thanks for sharing these details. It's always fun to learn more about furiends.

Thank you Lola. I think that while some rules are important to follow, many rules are just made to be broken. In fact, you might consider rule-breaking as just another hobby.

Two Pitties in the City said...
I can't believe she was dumped as a 3 month old. When did they find out she was deaf? I guess it's not really any different, as long as you use the hand motions, but I think it intimidates people.

Hi fellow pitties... Mom says the shelter knew I was deaf right away. It's pretty easy to tell when I can sleep even through a loud shelter environment and can't hear someone call me. Maybe for less social dogs it would be harder to tell, but as you know most of us pitties want to respond to human attention right away, so if someone calls us and we don't answer unless we can see them, that's a pretty good indicator. And really being deaf isn't much different. Most doggies learn sign language easier than they learn human words. So mom says the only hard part is getting my attention if I'm not looking at her. And they actually make vibrating collars for that, but I told mom I don't need a vibrating collar. I try to always just keep one eye on her in case she wants me! Unless of course I'm standing on a table at the time.


So that's all of the questions I had - thank you for reading, and hopefully mom will be back soon to tell you more about everything going on at our house. In the meantime she is trying to post quick updates on her Facebook page, so those of you who are on Facebook, feel free to stop by and say hi.

The Truth About Deaf Dogs

Okay, I'm going to be honest with you. As much as I love my deaf dog Noelle, and my deaf foster dog Ziggy, they really aren't any better than hearing dogs. Sometimes I say deaf dogs are better, but really they are just the same. There. I've admitted it. I've fostered six deaf dogs in the past two years, and they've ranged from "the perfect dog" (not Noelle), to "the biggest challenge ever" (Ziggy). It has more to do with their age, breed, and temperament than their hearing - or lack of it.

Deaf dogs are really no more challenging to train or live with than hearing dogs. Oh sure, they can pretend they don't notice you calling them when you wave your arms and they refuse to look at you. But even if they're really independent and don't naturally check in often, you can use a vibrating collar as a paging system to get their attention. The biggest issue with a deaf dog is making sure you never let them off leash outside of a fenced area because of the danger from traffic which they can't hear coming. Beyond that, they actually are often easier to train because they don't get distracted by noises around them. Plus dogs respond better to sign language or body language than they do to verbal commands, so with a deaf dog you can just take the easy route and train with only hand motions instead of actual words. I actually get lazy sometimes and use just hand signs with my hearing dog Remi instead of words. He quickly learned all of Noelle's sign language commands and responds equally to signs or words now.

Just like pit bulls, deaf dogs often get a bad rap. People will be very interested in one of my deaf fosters, and then I say "he's deaf" and they sometimes get this funny look on their face and start backing away. Like he's suddenly become a different dog than the one they were just petting and admiring. Silly people. I love to show how my deaf dogs respond to hand signs for something as simple as a "sit" command, because people are so amazed that the dog knows how to sit. Although when a hearing dog sits on command, people are sometimes still amazed, so it could just be that people aren't used to dogs knowing how to sit when asked. Noelle has a whole repertoire of tricks, but I am seriously lacking on training Ziggy. He can sit faster than any dog I know, but we have been focusing on commands like "no" and "come" and "stop chewing my shoelaces" and "stop chewing my socks" and "stop chewing my feet" and "stop drinking that beer", and haven't made it much beyond that.

Deaf dogs aren't for everyone, because they are a bit of extra work, since you can't use your voice to get their attention. But they have some secret advantages. First, they don't hear the neighbors' dogs barking when you go for a walk around the block. Second, they sleep soundly and you can travel with them to strange places without them barking at every noise they hear. This is especially nice if you like to take your dog camping! Third, they aren't bothered by fireworks or thunderstorms. So next time you're thinking about adopting a dog, please don't rule out a dog just because he or she is deaf. If he or she has a problem with alcohol though, that's a different story.

Mischievous Ziggy

According to dictionary.com, mischievous has the following definitions: 


1.maliciously or playfully annoying.
2.causing annoyance, harm, or trouble.
3.roguishly or slyly teasing, as a glance.
4.harmful or injurious.

---


With my deaf foster dogs, I talk to potential adopters about how to work with and train deaf dogs.

Ziggy is deaf..

and he's playfully annoying.

With my pit bull foster dogs, I talk to potential adopters about the challenges of adopting and owning a pit bull.

Ziggy is a pit bull...

and he's good at causing trouble. 

With my foster puppies, I talk to potential adopters about raising a puppy.

Ziggy is a puppy...

and he has a rougish look. 

But in Ziggy's case, even though he's a deaf pit bull puppy, instead of educating people on deaf dogs, or pit bulls, or raising puppies, I find myself spending all my time talking to potential adopters about how to deal with his mischievousness.  Because more than anything else..

Ziggy is mischievous...

Which sometimes results in harm to others. 

But he is showing improvement, at least on some days.  There are days I wish I could keep him.  And there are days that I think if he's adopted, he'll definitely be returned.  Because there are days that I would return him if I had adopted him. Of course, I'd have to return him to myself as the foster mom - this is the downside of adopting your own foster pet.  But on the days when he acts loving and sweet, when I can spend hours with him cuddling on the couch, I forget his mischievous side.  At least temporarily. 

I love this mischievous dog.