Does anyone else own a deaf dog?

[sheila3935]

My DD had a dog we think Springer Spaniel that went deaf due to old age. He learned very fast certain signs. Never seemed to bother him. He had seizures too and when he had one you had to hold him close and rub all over him to calm him as he couldnt hear you talk to him to calm him. Sadly he crossed over last year. She found him on the street half dead from starving. He would eat anything so she had to treat him like a baby and keep anything and everything up that he might think was good to eat but wasnt for him. He ate a rope toy once and got intestinal blockage from it and had to have surgery for it. We all sure miss Buddy. Farmboy in your case thats called selective hearing my DH has it too.

 

[Haviris2]

That pic is a few years old, Iris is now 8 1/2 years old. She's a great dog, and I'd gladly get another deaf one. Sometimes I even find it to my advantage!

 

[CoyoteMagic]

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Definately!! I live in redneck-ville. Guns going off all the time. The girls don't flinch. Same with fireworks and thunderstorms. We did Relay for Life last week and with all the goings on, Katie slept through most of it. Her biggest problem is lights and shadows. She can become OCD about it at times and we have to stop her with a squirt bottle, redirecting her to something new. It's all a result of being locked in basicly a concrete cell for 4 months of her life. She couldn't hear what was coming or going but she could see the lights and shadows. Evening walks are difficult because of car lights and she chases airplane lights in the sky (not far from the airport) She loves to play ball, be chased by Icee and Cherry, and jump in her pool. Mud puddles are fun to splash in and mom has an endless supply of duck jerky. Life is good.

Icee enjoys a good game of chasing Katie, but her favorite thing is just lounging about the house. She awakes long enough to reposition herself, thump her tail a couple of times and make sure Mom is still in the recliner. Life has gotten soooooooooooo much better.

I had somone ask me why would I want a dog who is deaf and blind. I told them that even when the world is falling down around, it's been a ruff day of chemo, bill collectors are ringing the phone off the hook and I burnt DH's dinner because Chemo brain forgot it was on the stove, my dogs want nothing more than to lie down beside me and lick away the tears that I cry and let me know that will all that is happening they will always love me for what I have done for them.

 

[dkvart1]

The comfort our pets can bring us is amazing.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

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I'm sure Stanley is looking over from Rainbow Bridge with a silly doggie smile. My Spook was a very special girl. She wasn't deaf, but she was thrown away in a graveyard when she was about 8weeks old. I blistered my knees on the newly laid blacktop trying to get her to come to me. Her crys were that sound you hear in old horror movies of the ghosts. I carried her home in one arm she was so small. We lost her a 12 years of age to Cushings. One day she was fine, the next fighting for her life. I have a wonderful vet who had cared for Spook from the 2nd day I had her that let me take her to a special place to say goodbye. She gave me her paw when it was time for her to go and I gave her the shot that sent her to the bridge. And then I cried for hours and still shed a tear for her everyday.

I have trouble sometimes remember that Katie is not Spook and doesn't know all the things that Spook did. That Katie is still a baby and that she will learn more and more as she gets older. She will never be Spook, but she will be the best dang Service Dog and companion she can be.

Stanley would be super proud of his family!!

 

[dkvart1]

Thank you for your kind words. He was an amazing dog. We found him on a golf course that had closed and we used to walk the paths there. He was romping around having a great time and stopped long enough for us to pet him, then frolicked off. There were a couple of kids nearby and we asked if it was their dog, they said it had been their friends dog but they didn't want him anymore and threw him out.

He followed us home and when we sat down on the patio he laid down next to us. DH looked at me and said "well, what do you think?" He was huge (90 lbs then) and extremely drooly (thankfully he outgrew that!) and I had an elderly persian who had no experience with dogs. I voiced my concern about Pugsley and he looked at Stanley and said "OK, two rules, no going potty in the house and NO beating up the cats, if you can live with that you can stay." About that time my year old cat walked up to the patio door and Stanley never made a move toward her. So we went in... and the young cat walked over to Stanley and hissed and he fell on his side and didn't move for 5 minutes! He was most respectful of our cats and if he was drinking and Pugsley came up to drink he would move away and let him drink.

It didn't take long to figure out he had been ill treated, the sudden movement of hand caused him to cower, a loud voice did the same. Occassionally he suffered from... not exactly seizures the vet said, but probably a slight neurological disorder that would cause his head to shake for several minutes. He was fully alert during this and his eyes would just plead with you to make it stop. Vet said it was most likely from being struck

It didn't take him long to forget about that awful past and trust us and he was the most loyal, trusting, gentle and loving soul I've ever known.

I've had several dogs through the course of my life, all wonderful animals, but losing Stanely was absolutely the toughest loss I've ever suffered through. We knew he was slowing down a bit the past couple of months. That morning we went for our morning walk and he was hopping around as usual, just happy to be alive. He refused breakfast (he was one fussy eater and that wasn't uncommon). About 7:50 he walked over and laid down in front of the open patio door to nap. I was talking to my DD on the phone and out of the corner of my eye saw his legs stiffen slightly and thought he was having a full on seizure. I yelled at my husband and by the time I crossed the 5 steps across the room, he was gone. I'm only glad he didn't suffer and that when he went it was quick.

It's been tough, a million memories to work through. Last night we had big storms and he was terrified of thunder. It woke me from a sound sleep and I was 1/2 way out of bed when I realized there was no need to check... he's safe from the storm. Made for another rough night.

Sorry, didn't mean to ramble...

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Ramble away. I have pages and pages of rambling on here and facebook when I was saying goodbye to Spook and then finding Katie. Memories are a wonderful thing, even the tears they bring.

 

[genuck]

I recently had a litter and we've found that one of the pups is deaf and blind. We decided to keep him, so far he's a good pup. No idea on how I'm going to house train him though. He's a sweetheart and adorable <3

 

[animalpro24]

Koshie is very pretty. So glad you rescued this cutie.

 

[dkvart1]

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Would love to see a pic of him.