Update 11-17-2014 from Brittany Walters and her dog Lola now Harley:

They use to call me Lola but my new family is now calling me Harley. My mommy and brother are die hard Batman fans and they say my little eyepatch reminds them of Harley Quinn. My new vet has started releasing me off my allergy food and started working towards finding the problem. He believes there really is no food allergy just a pollen allergy. I’m now enjoying delicious foods like carrots, ice cream, and cheese for treats. I’m quite known for knocking a bag of shredded cheese off the counter and showing my head deep inside. Mom’s starting to catch on and remember to put it back in the fridge, I must learn how to open it! I’ve been enjoying my daily cuddles with my brother, mom, and dad when he’s home from work. I also love my weekly doggy spa visits and they LOVE my singing voice. My first visit I figured out how to break free, gave the ladies an awfully fun adventure of capturing me while also breaking loose three other dogs! It was the most fun I have ever had! I’m awfully lazy. Fetch sounds fun and the ball looks tempting but I’d rather just chew on it. Who wants to run anyways? Well I must get back to cuddling and sleeping, my favorite activity.Lola was a local deaf English Bulldog/American Bulldog that I listed up for adoption on DeafDogsRock.com several months ago. Her family was going through a tough time and was ready to take her to a rescue. I told Lola’s family I would sponsor her into a rescue but first I wanted to check with one of our foster volunteers Heather Gates-Rusher to see if one of her friends would be interested in giving Lola a loving home. Heather  always comes through when we ask her for help (she totally rocks). She talked it over with her friend Brittany and she decided she would adopt Lola. She has a 5 year son at home and a fenced yard. Another bonus is  Heather would be near by to help Brittany with advice about deaf dog training. The whole situation seemed like it was meant to be. I knew Lola would be in good hands. Brittany and I decided we would  meet at the halfway point from where she lives so we decided to meet in Beckley, West Virginia where I would bring Lola to her.

I picked Lola up Friday afternoon after she had been at Doggy daycare school all day. I met her mommy Paola and she gave me all of Lola’s paperwork, instructions for her, Lola’s toys and her dog food. Her mommy said her final goodbyes to Lola and we were on our way to West Virginia. I thought I was somewhat prepared since I do so many deaf dog transports. Lola’s mommy  had warned me she didn’t like crates but I had a plan. I stuffed a Kong the night before with all kinds of yummy stuff and then I froze it in my freezer. Once I loaded Lola up into the crate in our Deaf Dogs Rock transport vehicle, she sniffed out and found the stuffed Kong right away. She literally closed her eyes and licked the Kong for 45 minutes without looking up even once. She didn’t make a peep! I thought I had outsmarted her but when she was done with the Kong, the 90 decibel deaf dog screeching began. Not only was she screaming, but it rained all the way to West Virginia and all the way back to Virginia!

Lola didn’t just bark, oh no barking is for amateurs! Lola, she is a Pro deaf dog Rocker and SCREAMED non stop until I could pull over at a rest stop. If you have never heard a deaf dog scream before, trust me when I say you would be shocked at just how loud a deaf dog can be because they can’t hear themselves. Once I pulled over and parked at the rest stop, I got out of the car,  got in the back seat and closed the door to put a safety harness on her. This way I could attach her to me and rearrange her belongings to make her a big bed in the front seat.

Once Lola got into the car in the front seat, she was so tired from doggy daycare, all she wanted to do was go to sleep but she could not get comfortable in the passenger seat because it was too small. She sat in the front seat nodding off like a toddler would in a car seat. I had to hold on to her harness because she kept trying to get into the back seat where all her treats and dog food was stored. It was a tough 2.5 hour drive but we made it!

She met her new mommy Brittany and it was love at first sight. It was a very long day but happy day. I left our Deaf Dogs Rock headquarters at 1:00pm and did not return until 9:00pm.

I got message today from both Brittany and Heather saying what an awesome dog Lola is. They could not be more excited to have her as a new member of their family.

Messages from Brittany: 

Lola is doing awesome. All the poor thing wants is love and attention. She’s been a severe cuddler, loves playing for hours, and was not happy our half an hour walk was over. She hates giving back a toy. She loves to see how long she can tease you before you’re finally fast enough to grab it back. She did great last night. We stopped at our local pet supplies store and got in at 9:15. We just quit play and she did great again. She’s intelligent, very loving. I’m glad we have her. Thank you for her. She’s been amazing.

 

Thanks to our Deaf Dogs Rock community who supports and donates to us so we can afford to transport Deaf dogs to their new homes. Deaf Dogs Rock was also able to buy some supplies for Lola to set her up for success in her new home.

Thanks for supporting our mission to save one Deaf Rocker Dog at a time. Because of your support Lola did not have to spend even one day in a shelter environment!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! According to deaf dog Lola, you all totally ROCK!

~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock