SadieI am a photographer, writer and long-time animal lover who has lived in the Philadelphia area for the last 7 years. I currently live in Manayunk with my beautiful deaf dog, Sadie, who is a border collie/lab mix. I rescued her from the Bucks County SPCA in Lahaska, where she was dumped off along with all of her littermates. Sadie's mother was deaf, her owner neglected to have her spayed, and she passed on her genetic deafness to all of her puppies (all but one who could hear slightly). Sadie was at the shelter for a month and a half before I found her and adopted her. Sadie knows about 20 signs, but most of the time chooses to look away from me when she knows I'm signing something that she doesn't want to "listen" to! ;)
I'm travelling around the United States and Canada, visiting and photographing families with their deaf dogs. The end result will be a deaf-dog photo book, which will be for sale as a fundraiser for groups that educate the public about deaf dogs and/or specifically rescue deaf dogs. I will also be visiting and photographing rescues that work specifically with deaf dogs, as well as visiting city shelters to find out how they treat/deal with the deaf dogs who are surrendered to them. I hope this book will not only raise money for these groups, but also educate the public about deaf dogs, and even be an inspiration for people trying to overcome any obstacles in their lives.
Melissa
Yuri
