A Beautiful Story About a Deaf Pit Bull!

Gunther

This is about how the relationship between a rescuer and Gunther was formed. Pit Bulls make up the most in shelters across the nation with misperceptions and stereotypes against them. And then you add deafness to the breed, which makes it a double whammy. They are very loving dogs. More about Gunther and the rescuer, go to:

http://www.sunherald.com/local/story/1091223.html

Here's another unrelated article on a pit bull who turned out to be Chicago's new police dog:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6625698

Top Five Causes of 2009!

Trudy Suggs, a nationally known author and editor, has selected Deaf Animal Row as one of the top five causes for 2009, and here's what she had to say about us:

"Rescue programs or shelters caring for deaf animals: Having had two deaf dogs, I can't emphasize enough how crucial it is to rescue deaf animals, whether dogs, cats or others. Thousands of deaf animals are abandoned and killed each year simply because they're deaf – and this tugs at my heart in so many ways. Their experiences, and fate, are so similar to our experiences as a deaf community. Besides, who better to understand deaf pets than deaf people?

One such program is at Deaf Animal Row (deafanimalrow.blogspot.com). Contact your local shelter or rescue program and see if they have deaf animals needing homes or support. Then share what you can, whether it's a blanket, treats, money, or best of all, a home."

The other four listed can be found here at http://www.trudysuggs.com/2009/01/05/start-2009-with-hope/.

Thank you, Trudy, for your support and it is much appreciated! Let's join her in the cause and care for our own deaf animals!

Deaf Horse Used as a Model

A wonderful article on how Cali, the deaf horse, have contributed to the understanding of disabilities and how they can function equally if allowed and given the opportunity. The emphasis is on the abilities of each individual as everyone has their own limits. Even hearnig animals and people have limits and we are not quick to call them as someone with disabilites. Attached is a video of Cali with her trainer in the article below:

deaf-horse-teaches-children-about-disabilities

Deaf Boxer Missing from Shelter in CA

HALLEJUAH! Dodger is Found

Further update: How Deaf Dog Got Missing

Go to this article: Deaf Dog Missing

What is it with these people nowadays? Sometimes dogs are stolen to be used as a breeding machine or a bait for dogfighting. Not all shelters have survelliance in place and I'm uncertain as to whether or not this shelter does, but it is likely it doesn't otherwise they would have caught the dognapper on camera. He is not the first it happened and certainly won't be the last, unfortunately. However, let's share a prayer that he is found and is in safe hands again.

Mistaken Identity Turns Deaf Dog Unwanted

An English Bulldog is in middle of controversy between the owner and breeder in Pittsburgh, PA, about a dog they learn is deaf. In the article, it states, "... the dog was healthy when sold." When they said healthy, they really meant "perfect" in the breeding world. Many deaf dogs are healthy to begin with and their deafness often go undetected by many people.

Responsible breeders would get them BAER tested or people with common sense would identify a dog being deaf. BAER stands for Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response and it would determine whether or not a puppy is deaf. I am opposed to using this measurement to euthanize deaf newborn puppies as some AKC endorses in their statement.

The breeder said her veterinarian performed examination. Veterinarians can't tell the dog is deaf by giving it a physical exam and spending brief time with the dog. All veterinarians I take my dogs to don't know they are deaf until I tell them. One of the hints people can rely on is listen to the barking of a dog -- deaf dogs usually bark louder than hearing dogs as they can't hear themselves.

One of my dogs was purchased and then dumped after learning he was deaf. I know of some people who were tricked into getting a deaf pup but they opted to keep it anyway. Just because a dog is deaf that earns the image of imperfection, it doesn't make them unworthy. They lead a very happy and normal life just as deaf people do. Deaf dogs will always exist no matter what as it is genetic, even by responsible breeders. Genetic deafness do not only happen with animals but us people as well and our existence is NOTHING to be ashamed of.

I can't believe this went as far as getting court involved when there are more important things to fight about. As for this deaf English bulldog in the article that awaits decision from the court, I hope this deaf English bulldog is now in a good home who understands about living with a deaf dog.

Onto a happier note relating to a different deaf English bulldog, I met a deaf English Bulldog puppy from this owner of Chic Petique months ago. By the way, Pet Chic is a wonderful neighborhood pet store that specializes in the all natural and most healthy products for your pet. It is located in Philadelphia, PA. I go there whenever money permits and they offer many great things.

She knew about this site and met my deaf dogs but had no way to contact me to tell me about the deaf English bulldog puppy. Coincidentally, I stopped by her store and saw the puppy outside with her. She was so cute. She chased after the wheels and bit the wheels of a stroller that a mother was pushing with her baby in it. The owner, also a rescue, was happy to see me and told me about this deaf puppy that a breeder gave to her at no charge, trusting her to find her a good home. She asked me for advices. While I'm not fond of any breeders, responsible or not, as there are still not enough home for the cats/dogs that are waiting for home, I am thankful for this breeder who neither chose to euthanize her nor deceive anyone about the puppy's hearing status nor just dump her at the shelter as some would.

This owner has 5 English bulldogs and 1 French bulldog that she adopted from shelter/rescue who all live with her at home. Another English bulldog with health problem that she pulled from shelter when someone abandoned him there. She lets this dog live out his life in her store. She has more than enough dogs and her parents, who has an English bulldog, wanted to adopt this deaf English bulldog. She said her parents are building a fence just for her in the Poconos, which I think is great.

Deaf Pets Make it in the News!

I subscribe www.care2.com and they provide a wonderful resource, ranging from domestic animals/wild animals to environment to violence against women and so on. They send a petition from time to time on various issues to sign. I encourage you all to subscribe and give your support. I stumbled across this article that talks about deaf pets as well as someone mentioned about it to me. Overall, I agree with most of, if not all, what is being said in the article on deaf pets.

Go to Pets with Disabilities Series: Deaf Pets made available by www.care2.com or go to Pets with Disabilites Series: Deaf Pets made available by www.petside.com

Help Deaf Owner Find Her Lost Deaf Dog in MS!

UPDATE: CLYDE WAS FOUND SAFELY. KEEP YOUR BELOVED PET CLOSE TO YOU.

I get woken up by my brother this am, urging me to post this on my blog and then wished me a happy birthday :) Let's work feverishly in getting words out to your deaf fellows and hearing allies in bringing Clyde back home safely.

To deaf and hearing members of the Deaf community (as well as animal lovers who are not part of the Deaf community) in Mississippi and its neighboring state if where Clyde lives is near the border of another state, please flood as many shelters with a call and email them a picture of Clyde so that whoever drops her off there will not get euthanized. Some Southern states and Midwestern states, animals get euthanized quicker and their usual method is to gas them to death but more quickly when finding out an animal is deaf. Print this flyer and pass around and send via email as well. Read the article with picture and information below:

This is a copy of the flier Helen Margiotta and friends are circulating in hopes of finding Clyde.

From the newsroom of the Sun Herald, Gulport, Mississippi, Saturday, January 5, 2008 .....

Article from the newspaper can be found on this link

Deaf dog needs help to get home
By CREE CANTRELL
SUN HERALD

GULFPORT -- It's hard enough to lose a pet, but Helen Margiotta has a bond with her beagle, Clyde, that transcends the typical pet/person relationship. Both Margiotta and Clyde are deaf.

Margiotta adopted Clyde last winter after a close friend found him abandoned, flea-covered and starving.

Since then Helen and Clyde have developed a special relationship.

"She has even been working to teach Clyde some sign language so the two can better communicate," said friend Laura Lambert of Gulfport, who is helping Margiotta in her search for Clyde.

Margiotta first noticed Clyde was missing from her Perry Street yard on New Year's Eve after leaving the dog outside while she went out to run a few errands.

"Helen never leaves Clyde outside," Lambert said. "Our best guess is that he climbed the fence or possibly that someone let him out of the yard."

Clyde does have a collar, but the tags are not attached. Margiotta and friends have been combing the neighborhood, putting up fliers and checking the animal shelters.

Clyde was last officially seen after his disappearance near his home across from Gulfport High School off Courthouse Road, and a possible sighting was reported in the Hardy Court Shopping Center area.

People who may spot Clyde are urged to remember he is deaf and unable to respond to audible communication such as yelling, clapping or whistling.

If you have any information on Clyde's whereabouts, contact Margiotta, who uses a Telecommunication Device for the Deaf, at 896-4305. The TDD line will ring a number of times and then beep as if reaching a fax line. The incoming telephone number is then sent to Margiotta, and she returns the call through an interpretive operator. Or people with information could contact Lambert at 343-1235.

Original

Sound Off

I am working on behalf of a friend, Helen Margiotta of Gulfport, trying to help her find "Clyde." He somehow escaped her Perry Street yard on the afternoon of New Year's Eve wearing his collar, but unfortunately without his identifying tags. Helen adopted Clyde last year after he was found abandoned in a rural area, emaciated and flea-ridden. Helen took unusually good care of Clyde, working tirelessly teaching him signals because he is stone deaf and misses most of the cues most pets get from humans and their surroundings. She has a special bond and purpose with Clyde also because Helen is also deaf!...

© 2008 Sun Herald. All Rights Reserved.

A Hearing Dog Found a Deaf/Blind Dog

A neighbor took her hearing dog on a search for another neighbor's deaf/blind dog, Fulton, after learning it got loose and do not know way its back home. For 24 hours, Fulton was lost somewhere on the 190 acres of land where it's unlikely a human will cross the path of where the dog is. This is what humans and animals do for another humans and animals.

For more, read this article along with a movie clip

Deaf and Blind Dog Lost in UK!

Blind and deaf dog's owner search



A farmer's wife is appealing for help to find the owners of an old, blind and deaf sheepdog found in a field near Borth in Ceredigion.
Rhian Williams-Watkin believes the dog, whom she has called Ed, may have been set loose or simply wandered off and was unable to find his way home.

She said Ed was malnourished and infested with fleas and worms when he was found just over a week ago.

Ed "seems to have been loved because he enjoys cuddles," she added.

It is thought he has been missing for weeks and has probably survived by eating grass and slugs.

Mrs Williams-Watkin has made inquiries with farmers nearby and the local veterinary surgery, but the trail has gone cold.

Wandered off

She is now considering putting up signs in the area in a last ditch attempt to find Ed's owners.

Mrs Williams-Watkin, from Dolybont, about six miles north of Aberystwyth, said: "Ed can stay here, but it would be great to find his owners especially if they're missing him and don't know where he is.

"I named him Ed and he's blind and very hard of hearing.

"When we found him he had fleas and worms and was malnourished, but he's received treatment and is now starting to put on weight.

"It's possible he may have wandered off and has been unable to find his way home or he may have been unable to work because of his blindness and has been set loose."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/6939269.stm

New Home for Deaf Dolphin and You to Swim With!

Or click on this: Deaf Dolphin Finds New Friends

Deaf dolphin calls Dolphins Plus home sweet home

BY STEVE GIBBS Citizen Staff KEY LARGO — Castaway, a deaf Atlantic bottlenose dolphin relegated to public display, finally has a permanent home.

The dolphin, whose 3-day-old calf died June 15, has been moved to a natural seawater lagoon at Dolphins Plus, a research and education facility where visitors pay to swim with the dolphins. It was a long journey getting there. Castaway, named for the cove near Vero Beach where she stranded herself last November, was placed in isolation at the Marine Mammal Conservancy at Mile Marker 102.5 in January after rescuers learned she was pregnant. Her calf, named Wilson, was born on June 11 and lived almost four days. The results of a necropsy, done to determine the cause of its death, was not available at press time.

Because the National Marine Fisheries Service considers Castaway to be rehabilitated, the agency said she either had to be released or transferred to a facility that displays, not rehabilitates, dolphins. But she could not be moved to the Dolphins Plus lagoon immediately because a pregnant dolphin there is about to give birth at any moment. Due to the recent loss of her own calf, it would not be healthy to introduce Castaway into an environment where she would be exposed to another newborn calf, said Robert O. Stevens, director of veterinary medicine.

Castaway spent a few days alone in a 24-foot circular above-ground pool at Island Dolphin Care while Dolphins Plus erected a barrier to separate the lagoon. The pregnant dolphin, named "Dinghy," lives on one side with another adult female dolphin, while Castaway now resides on the other side with two other adult female dolphins, facility curator Art Cooper said.

Besides being deaf, Castaway's vision is impaired, Stevens said. "Her vision on her right side is not as good as her left. She turns her head and looks out of her left eye," he said. "We suspect she might also have neurological problems. She may have had a stroke. She doesn't have pattern recognition, so we suspect a neurological problem. "We don't know for sure," he added. "Because of her size, it has not been possible to get to a facility where they could use an MRI." The mammal weighs between 550 and 600 pounds. Dolphin advocates have been critical of the care provided to Castaway, saying social animals such as dolphins should not be kept in isolation. "We're not isolating her at our whim," Stevens said when Castaway still was at Island Dolphin Care. "[The U.S. Department of Agriculture] says we have to isolate her. It is not smart to introduce her into a strange group of dolphin — boom — like that." While she was at Island Dolphin Care, she was under the care of the Marine Mammal Conservancy's Robert Lingenfelser. "Socially she's doing just fine," Lingenfelser said at the time. "She was depressed for 2 1/2 weeks after Wilson died, but she seems to have recovered from that." Dolphin advocate Rick Trout, a former conservancy director, said he was pleased that Castaway has been moved. "I'm glad to see that she is no longer at [the conservancy], that she is ... where she should have been moved last January, with other animals," Trout said. sgibbs@keysnews.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20103286/

Deaf Dog and Visual Cues

A good advice by Cathy M. Rosenthal

Cathy M. Rosenthal: Teach deaf dog to react to visual cues

Web Posted: 07/28/2007 04:14 PM CDT

San Antonio Express-News

Dear Cathy: My husband and I recently adopted a dog from the Animal Defense League. After we got her home, we discovered she was deaf. We are trying to house-train her but are not having great success. She goes very well when we take her out, but we are having trouble trying to get her to tell us when she wants to go out. She is 5 months old now. She is very smart, and we have become very attached to her. She is still having accidents in the house. Do you know of any local training for deaf dogs?
— Sharon Melville

Dear Sharon: Sometimes shelters don't notice when a dog is deaf because the dog is reacting to so much visual stimuli in the shelter. And that's your No. 1 training tip here: Develop and rely on hand signals and visual cues to help her learn.

Just like with a hearing dog, take her outside when she gets up from a nap, finishes a meal or starts sniffing. When you teach a hearing dog to go out, you may also say, "Do you have to go out?" The dog learns that means go outside only because you follow those words with that action. In the case of a deaf dog, you have to connect going outside with a visual cue. For example, you could put a bell on the inside door handle and paw at it yourself every time you let her out. Visually, she will make the connection between pawing the handle and going outside. Give her a treat when she begins pawing at it herself. Of course, she won't hear the bell, only see the bell moving, but you will hear it and know she needs to go outside.

I don't know any local dog trainers who work specifically with deaf dogs, but much of dog training is based on visual cues, so most experienced trainers should be able to help you. I recommend reading the book "Living with a Deaf Dog" by Susan Cope-Becker and visiting www.deafdogs.org for more tips on how to live with and train a deaf dog.

Dear Cathy: Every summer, my granddaughter, Rachel, wants to come to my house to sew kitty comforters. We have done this for the past three years and donated them to the Humane Society. Rachel has passed along her passion for animals to her younger sister, Rheanna, who just turned 5 years old. What a wonderful role model Rachel has turned out to be. Rachel and Rheanna are so excited about sewing the comforters, and as a grandmother I'm excited for them to spend time with me doing the things they love. Because of them, the Humane Society will be getting an abundant supply of comforters by the end of summer.

— Cheryl Jones

Dear Cheryl: Let's give you some credit for their altruism, grandma. Your grandkids are interested in helping animals because they saw you as a role model. It's important that children learn at a young age to think and care about the welfare of animals, even if there are no pets in the home. It gets them thinking about things other than themselves, which hopefully leads to compassionate, charitable adults.

Tell Rachel and Rheanna that I am proud of them and have seen how much the cats love curling up on those special comforters.

If you can't sew kitty quilts, but want to help animals, check out San Antonio's Rock n Rescue — a battle of the bands that chooses opening acts to play for headliners, like "Grand Funk Railroad" and "Rare Earth," at the AT&T Summer Concert Series. Visit www.sarocknrescue.com for details.

Senior Deaf Dog Subjected to Violence

Guilty as charged!

Postman kicked deaf dog then fought owner
By Gina Bebbington

A POSTMAN has been sentenced for kicking a dog and fighting with its owner.

Michael Crowley, of New Road, in Anderton, faces a curfew after being found guilty of assault by beating and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The 33-year-old appeared at Vale Royal Magistrates' Court on Wednesday after the incident, which happened in December last year, and was convicted after an earlier trial.

Catherine Whincup, prosecuting, said: "The defendant attended an address to deliver mail when he seemed to turn and deliver a savage kick to the 14-year-old dog of Mr Andrew Town who was angry, confronted the defendant and was grabbed and punched repeatedly around his head."

Ms. Whincup said the dog was nearly deaf and slow to respond.

Crowley, a father-of-two, told police in interview that the animal was aggressive and growling at him so he kicked it in self defence.

He also told police that he hit Mr Town in self defence.

Karina Champion, defending, said Crowley was initially suspended by Royal Mail but later reinstated despite his conviction. He showed remorse for the incident from the outset.

"He notified his employers of the incident immediately after it happened and acknowledges that in relation to the assault that matters did become heated.

He genuinely felt he was in some danger and accepts what he did was wrong.

He said it was two people in the wrong place at the wrong time and has said he wishes he could turn back time."

She added: This is not a man who is going to trouble these courts again.

"He lost his temper and in the circumstances, although it doesn't make it justifiable, it does make it easier to understand."

Crowley was given a three-month 8pm to 4.30am curfew for each of the charges, to run concurrently, and was ordered to pay costs of £455 and compensation of £50.

12:00pm Sunday 15th July 2007