Sydney Leanne is our deaf nine month old mini Australian shepherd (Aussie) that was released by her previous owners to Animal Control because they did not expect her to grow so big. At least that was the story they gave Animal Control when they released her to them.
When we went to the shelter to visit Sydney, she was frightened and hiding in the corner of her kennel. It broke my heart to see her so scared. Since her time was up at the shelter, we couldn’t stand the thought of them putting her to sleep. We just had to save her and take her home with us.
We rescued Sydney on 8 -11-11. From the minute we walked out of the shelter on our way out to the car, Sydney became a totally different dog. All of a sudden she was this happy dog (I suspect it was because she was so happy to get out of doggy jail) with a big smile on her face and her tail wagging her entire body!
When we took Sydney home to meet her new doggy brothers and sisters (we have a hearing Aussie, a Pomeranian and seven cats) we discovered they all adored Sydney from the moment they laid eyes on her!
I think Sydney was abused in her past but now we spoil her and she gets the run of the house. It used to make me sad knowing she had it so rough but now when I see how happy she is, it warms my heart. I don’t think her previous owners worked with her much as far as training her but now she is coming along very well and learning hand commands. It takes her some time to figure things out because she deaf but with patience and love she is improving daily. She is getting to know some hand signals and we are looking forward to signing her up for her first obedience class for deaf dogs. She has only been our’s for about two weeks but in that time she has come a long way towards trusting us. I have personally been working with her every day to show her we are here to love her and not harm her.
Sydney is 100% puppy and you can tell by her personality that she is happy to be alive.
Our family is new to having a deaf dog but we all love and adore Sydney. She is definitely stuck with us for life!
Sara Knutson -Vet Tech Student – Rochester MN
Thanks Sara for sharing Sydney’s story with Deaf Dogs Rock. According to my dog Nitro you and your family Rock for saving Sydney’s life.
