It is people like Kim Balboni who fund raise for Deaf Dogs Rock in honor of her beloved deaf dog  Sherwood, that helps deaf dogs all over the nation get medical attention they need so they will be more desirable and have a better chance at rescue and adoption. Kim is the owner of Good Dog University and K9 Daycare in West Springfield, MA. The money Kim is raising now will help to provide a much needed Heartworm Treatment for a deaf dog here in Virginia named Marcie. So far Kim and Sherwood Forest has raised almost           400.00 with their Tree of Life fundraiser! According to my deaf dogs Nitro, Bud and myself, Kim and all the folks at Good Dog University and the K9Daycare, totally ROCK! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock

Here is Kim’s Deaf Dogs Rock Fundraising story:

Sherwood’s Forest

As some of you may or may not know, we the Balboni family lost a very special companion and member of our family. On February 28th our beloved deaf Dalmatian Sherwood passed away. In honor of what would have been his 2nd birthday on June 1st, the dogs are going to be making the Tree of Life in our lobby. Please help us decorate our tree with by purchasing a tree leaf and giving us a photograph of a present or past companion, whether it be a dog, cat, person, or another small animal who meant something very special to your heart. Each leaf will cost five dollars and all money the money raised and collected is going to go to a rescue organization that helps in placing and networking deaf dogs called Deaf Dogs Rock.  We thank you in advance for making our tree full of memories.

 

Here is Kim’s Deaf Dogs Rock Story:

I have always liked challenges and Dalmatians. When I finished my schooling I got myself a Dalmatian pup, everyone told me the breed was stubborn I thought perfect if I can train this stubborn breed other things will be a breeze. I became a certified trainer and took my Dalmatian to agility trails and did lots of trick training. She wasn’t that stubborn of a dog to train.

My parents fell in love with her and when it was time for me to move out on my own they begged me to leave her with them. She was baby so I told them I’m sorry but she goes where I go. About 6 months later my father approached me and said they found this Dalmatian that needed a home on some rescue site. It stated she was 9 months old and at 6 different homes and she was in a kill shelter in Manhattan NY. I told him I would help train her if he was serious about her, so we hopped in the car and drove to meet her.  The dalmatian pup was full of energy, but we thought what young pup wouldn’t be after being in a cages environment. We filled out the adoption application and Penney was coming home with us.

 

 

On the way home in the car my husband and I noticed Penny didn’t pay much attention to a squeaky toy we had purchased  for her homecoming.  When my father pulled into the driveway of her new home my mother greeted her with open arms. As the dog ran past her,  she never seemed frightened of all the chaos and noises around her.

I knew the deafness trait was quite common in the Dalmatian breed, so I did a few tests to see if I could get Penny’s attention. She did not react to any of the sound distractions I was making. I decided to break the news to my parents because I had a feeling she could not hear. The next morning when my parents woke up and went down the stairs to check on her, she never peaked her head up to the whistling of my father and the good “morning girl” greeting my mom gave her. Yup this confirmed Penny was indeed deaf. Right away my parents had doubts that they could raise a deaf dog. I reassured them that I would be there every step of the way to help out with her training.  It certainly would not be fair to have her go to another home.

With intense sign command training using positive reinforcement, my parents and I were able to teach Penny the signs for ” time to eat”, “go for a walk”, and to “watch me”. We taught obedience all with hand signals. My father would have Penny “check in” ever few minutes, he would use a hand signal to tell her to “come” to him and then he would treat her with a high value food treat.

With consistent training Penny started to check in often on her own every few minutes. She was one of the best companion dogs a person could ask for. She was very loyal to her family and an all around great dog.  Penny would even allow my children to pet her, lay on her, and play ball with her. She did not have one aggressive or fearful bone in her entire body that people often say is associated with owning a deaf dog.

 

The Tree of Life

Ten years later I myself rescued a deaf Dalmatian and named him Puck.  Although Puck has learned a lot from his hearing Dalmatian friends Perdie and Kalamata, he runs agility with all hand signals with my 9 year old son. Puck also attends the Doggy Day Care that we own and he plays very nicely with all the dogs in his class. Since we rescued Puck three years ago we have also rescued two other hearing impaired Dalmatians. Our latest rescues are  a one year old female Dalmatian named Jersey and our now deceased young male Dalmatian Sherwood. Sherwood just recently passed away unexpectedly. In honor of our sweet Sherman we have decided to do a fundraiser in his honor with all proceeds going to Deaf Dogs Rock so they can help other deaf dogs in need of help.

 

Above photo: Kim’s deaf dogs Jersey and Puck

I wanted to do something special at our Good Dog University and K9 Daycare, so I put a Sherwood Forest Tree of Life where we asked the owners of the dogs who attend our Doggy Daycare if they would like to purchase a leaf to go on the Tree of Life (we painted a big tree on one of our walls). We asked our patrons to participate by buying a leaf for $ 5.00 each and we would have them place a picture of one of their lost loved ones. The photo could be in memory of an animal or a person or in honor of a living person or animal.

For each leaf we sell to go on our Tree of Life, all the money raised from our Tree of Life Fundraiser will be donated directly to Deaf Dogs Rock. Sherwood was a young dog who passed away way to young and the Vets suspected he had an abnormal liver. The Vets said that even if we elected to go with a special surgery there was only a  20% chance of recovery so my sweet Sherwood passed in my arms on February 28th 2013.

 

Photo of Sherwood celebrating his first birthday. 

If it wasnt for my parents dog Penney 14 years ago, (she is still living at a ripe age if 14) I would never know how special the hearing impaired dogs really are and can be.

We currently live on 12 acres of land and own a Doggie Daycare that all our hearing impaired dogs attend on a daily basis.