This is a pic of our Albert when he was a youngster. He is now five and has been a handful, being deaf and slightly sight impaired. White cats with blue eyes are usually deaf, with night blindness and sometimes immune impaired also. Al has a hard time seeing at night and uses his nose to smell where things are. Lights, shadows and things moving in the breeze can make him on high alert. He has learned to respond to our hand signals but nothing works as far as disciplining him! He does what he pleases. Mom took him in as a kitten because she too is hearing impaired and felt a kinship to him. We love him dearly but it has been a challenge to keep him out of trouble. Hearing impaired pets take a lot more time and energy to live with but the reward of their love is so immense.
Below are two deaf pets that we hope can find homes from this great promotion Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week on Pet Finders.
Ahna is a beautiful long-hair white kitty with baby blue eyes. She is deaf, so she needs to be indoors only with no small children or dogs. She is a loving girl once she settles into her new home. Come make Ahna a permanent member of your family! She is in Sanctuary Animal Rescue in Alabaster, AL. Her Pet Finder page is
here.
It is also Deaf Dog Awareness Week as well - check out a deaf dog rescue story and video on how to train a deaf dog at
Pet Finders site. In honor of Deaf Dog Week we are featureing young Beck.
Beck and Bones are 10 week old male Aussie mix pups residing at
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville NC. They are both completely deaf and visually deficient, most probably as the result of the backyard breeding of two Merle Aussies. ( When two merles are bred together, about 25% of the litter (statistically speaking) will inherit a merle gene from each parent (these pups are called “double” merles) and they will be so color diluted that they are mostly or all white. Of the double merles, the huge majority (reportedly up to 90%) will be congenitally deaf (and/or have vision problems). Because deaf dogs are harder to sell or place, many puppy-mill and back-yard breeders, and some “well accepted” breeders, simply cull (KILL) all the white puppies at birth.)
Beck and Bones are afflicted with the Double Merle deficiencies, which affected their hearing and eyesight. They can see well enough to get along if the lights are on, and have mastered the environment in their foster home with no problem. They do well with other dogs and love to play just like any other puppy. They would need specialized training and guidance -- either a deaf/vi rescue or a qualified home. They would do well as a companion to another tolerant dog or pup. For more information on Double Merling, visit
www.lethalwhites.com/doublemerle.html.
Bones has been adopted so Beck is the only one still available. Please post these great pets on Twitter and Facebook to help us find them forever homes. If you are posting for Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week please join in and link with Mr Linky below.