This Happy Tail was sent in by Monica Auriemma. Thanks Monica for sharing Alyx’s Happy Tail! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock

Alyx’s Happy Tail by Monica Auriemma

My husband and I had been debating and pondering over the idea of adding a dog to our small family of 2 for quite a few months. We finally decided to adopt a dog back in January of 2013. After having owned 3 puppy store dogs, I was convinced adoption was the way to go. Mind you, the 3 dogs I had owned before were not bad dogs, I loved them like nothing else in this world and still miss them. I had been raised with dogs around, so I am definitely a dog person. My husband, on the other hand, is more of a cat person. It took some convincing to go the canine route.

We ended up adopting an 8 week old — what we thought to be — Labrador mix. Soon after, we realized he was a lot more Catahoula than Lab. We started researching on the breed and boy, did we realize we were in for the ride of a lifetime.

After a few months; we started, again, thinking on adding a 2nd pup to our family. We definitely knew we wanted another Catahoula, just to match the level of energy our pup had!

Little did we know, there were some changes planned for us. We ended up moving from Orlando to Austin back in September. The few dogs I had looked at in Florida, were out of the picture at this point. The search began again.

I remember looking at Catahoula rescue groups, Petfinder and even on Craigslist. Mind you, I have read some horror stories from dogs being adopted from Craigslist or being put up for adoption. I was not really putting Craigslist up on my list of potential adoption places, but still looked. That’s when I noticed this beautiful female dog, Alyx. I remember having seen her on Petfinder and then there she was, up on Craigslist. I kept an eye on her, checking up on her, for weeks. Once my husband and I finished moving and settling in to our new city, we talked about wether we were ready for her or not. I’m going to be brutally honest, the fact that she’s deaf scared me. I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to provide a good home for her, we weren’t sure how our puppy was going to react with her. We were anxious. But there was something about her eyes, her face. I just knew I wanted to, at the very least, meet her in person.

Alyx was actually in a foster home, she was part of Austin Pets Alive! dogs. Alyx has a history of seizures, which had never been witnessed either by the organization or the 2 foster homes she stayed in, in the 7 or so months she was with them. But, to be cautious, they preferred to have her in foster homes. We scheduled a meet and greet with Alyx and our crazy Catahoula (Desmond).

The meet and greet did not go as expected, Alyx was distracted and kept to herself a lot. The foster mom shared with us, Alyx had already had 2 or 3 meet and greets that did not work out. Alyx had been adopted once since being surrendered to Austin Pets Alive! and returned the next day because the other dog did not get along with her. We were unsure at that point wether she was actually going to work out or not. We were looking for a dog that could match Desmond’s energy level. Foster mom assured us Alyx was playful and very sweet, that she was usually not this detached and uninterested. My husband and I went home that day to talk about it, we decided to do a “trial” adoption, just to make sure we were going to be able to provide the home she deserved.

The first 2-3 nights were weird. We were still unsure this was going to workout, but something kept telling me to wait, just a little longer. Give them some time, and we did.

Here we are a month and a half later and I cannot put into words how glad I am we decided to stick it through. She was the best decision we have made, after Desmond of course!

We’re not really sure what kind of background she had, I’m sure when dogs are surrendered, those… people, usually keep certain details to themselves. We did notice she was not a fan of having her head touched, and still is with strangers; she bows her head and her eyes flinch. She would shake when given the lay down command, thankfully, she’s past that. Her being deaf has not been an issue, at all. She’s the sweetest dog ever. Her and her brother get along great, she lets him know when he’s being too overwhelming or annoying. We haven’t witnessed a seizure either, I’m not really sure how true that story was, but hey, who am I to judge.

I’m surprised she had been up for adoption for as long as she was, but I like to think there was a reason for it and we were just meant to be :) It’s so cliche but so very true: rescue dogs actually rescue people. At least that’s what both my four legged kids have done for me.

Happy tails for everyone!