Story by: Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock

I was lucky to meet Annie Hart with the Bill Foundation and Eldad Hagar with Hope For Paws at the 2013 BlogPaws Social Media Pet Blogging Conference in Northern Virginia this year. Not only did I take one of Annie and Eldad’s sessions at the conference, but I remember Annie well because she was the only one at the entire conference who actually sat down on the ballroom floor (at a Red Carpet event no less) and just played with my deaf dog Nitro. Nitro was so excited and trying to do zoomies on a leash! This young lady was a true dog lover so when she sent me an email the other day about a very special deaf dog in her care, I was only to happy to help share Luke’s story in hopes of finding him the perfect home. This is the story of Luke the little Miracle Dog!

Photo above: Annie playing with Nitro at the BlogPaws Pet Blogging Conference – Annie, Kristin Elliott with Doodie Pack, and Eldad Hager – Nitro, Alley, Kristin and Christina at the Red Carpet Event at BlogPaws 2013

When I got home from the conference, I started following the Bill Foundation Facebook page because I love the rescue work Annie Hart does. One day I was checking out the Bill Foundation”s FB page and she had this amazing rescue story.

Annie told her FB followers how she  had received a frantic call from her friend Samantha Haas  who had just met a homeless man with four puppies stored inside of a Tupperware container.  By the time Annie rushed downtown the man with the puppies had boarded a city bus and the bus was on the move. She bravely jumped into action chasing down the bus with the help of her husband in the driver’s seat and her friend Samantha driving in front of the bus to slow it down. To make a long story short she finally boarded the bus, met the man with the puppies, and preceded in using her gentle powers of persuasion to convince the man to give the puppies to her. Read the whole rescue adventure by clicking here. 

Luckily for these puppies Annie Hart was so persistent that fateful day. When the man on the bus opened the container, Annie spotted four of the cutest terrier puppies and they were still alive!  The smallest puppy was a tiny white runt with pink skin she named Luke.  Once the puppies arrived at the Bill Foundation they were thoroughly examined by a Vet. After a few weeks in rescue, the other three puppies started to gain weight but the smallest puppy Luke was not growing. Annie was concerned for Luke so she took him to see their Veterinarian. The first thought the Vet had when Luke was examined was that he probably had a liver shunt. Several tests were run and it was confirmed little Luke did indeed have a liver shunt.

Since Luke’s liver shunt diagnosis, he has gained some weight. Annie and the Vet are still testing and are undecided on his liver shunt surgery at this time. Thus far they have been able to manage it with diet and meds, but they will soon do another bile acids test and if it’s high, they will proceed with surgery. One of Luke’s vets thinks there is a chance that the valve was under-developed when he was born but is slowly closing up, which could be why he’s doing so well. Luke now weighs 4.3 pounds.

Right now Luke is doing great with a special diet, lots of love from his foster family, and of course the love and support of the Bill Foundation Village.

Every time I saw a photo of Luke on Facebook I was temped to ask Annie if she had tested his hearing but at the same time I didn’t want seem negative or jinx this sweet little angel. Just last week it was discovered that Luke is actually deaf. He is such an outgoing fun puppy that no one could tell he was deaf. Some deaf puppies are so good at reading body language and going with the flow that it takes some time for us humans to figure out they are deaf. Luke is one of those puppies. Being deaf has not slowed Luke down one bit! With the discovery of Luke’s deafness, Annie is determined to find him a wonderful home for him to grow and thrive.

 

Luke is going to be looking for a very special home

Little Luke was born in early June of 2013. He is looking for a very special home. He needs someone who works from home, and has another small submissive dog around his size (4 – 7 pounds) so Luke will have a playmate. He needs someone who will teach him signs and communicate through American Sign Language (ASL) or Deaf Dog Sign Language (DDSL). This can be as simple as signing to him every time he is fed, watered, given a toy, given a ball, taking him for a walk, taking him for a drive, and pointing in the direction you want him to go.

By simply incorporating simple signs and communicating with Luke, he will be a Rocker dog in no time. Luke also needs someone to be his advocate to always look after his best interests. By being his advocate, it means his human would always having his back no matter what.  A prospective adopter will be someone willing to do research on his physical needs as well as learning as much as possible about living with a deaf dog. It also means keeping him safe in any situation that arises. When a person commits to adopting a deaf dog, it is a commitment to the dog to build a solid foundation through training, communication, socialization and never putting the dog in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation.

Training a deaf dog is to be done with positive reinforcement training. My deaf dogs Nitro and Bud have never been punished but always redirected. They have learned Deaf Dog Sign Language (DDSL) so well that all I have to do is point in a certain direction and they will go in that direction.

If the above description sounds like you, and you think you can give Luke a special home, then please  fill out an adoption application at www.billfoundation.org/adopt

Please share Luke’s message so we can find him a great home. A home where Annie and the Bill Foundation Village will know he is in good hands and safe.

Thanks for sharing.

Christina, Nitro and Bud – Deaf Dogs Rock