Life with a Deaf Dog

Eleven years ago we headed to the pound hoping to find a playmate for the dog we already had. We weren't particularly thrilled with our options at the pound, but did find a few dogs we were interested in. When we played with the few we liked the staff at the Humane Society suggested we look at this one certain dog. Apparently this dog had been there quite awhile and her time was almost up. I could tell as soon as we saw her why no one had taken her home. She was an ugly dog. She had zero personality and just wasn't what we were looking for. She had obviously been abused and would duck every time you raised your hand to pet her. I wasn't sure how this wasn't going to work out, but because we didn't want her to be put down we brought her home.

I can't tell you how glad I am that we made that decision to bring Lady home that day. She has been an amazing dog. She's very loyal as most dogs are, but she's also very protective. She's very territorial and doesn't like anyone she doesn't know anywhere near her home. We've enjoyed many things with her over these last eleven years. We've gone on walks and car rides and just cuddled in bed or on the couch. We've spent hours just doing nothing other than enjoying each others company. Might sound silly, but she and our other dog were our babies before we started having babies. Our other dog has always been a bit lazy, but Lady was always our protector.

One of the things I'll always remember about her is how she could hear any sound at any time. She'd hear someone walking down the road a mile away. She'd know the mailman was coming before he even pulled up and she'd been in the front window barking. We'd know if anyone was at our house even before the doorbell rang because she'd hear them pull up and let us know. At night she'd wake us up if she heard a critter outside or if the wind blew and knocked something over. Her hearing was amazing and it was something I took comfort in because her bark sounded ferocious. I never worried about someone trying to break into our home. They'd hear her and run.

Well, now that she is fifteen and starting to slow down a bit she has completely lost her hearing. It's very sad in a way because she can't hear anything. I can't tell her what a good dog she is anymore and have her hear it. That makes me sad. She can no longer jump up to get on the bed so at night she sleeps on a blanket beside the bed. There are nights when she won't hear us go to bed and she'll stay in the family room on the floor. I usually feel bad and tap her to let her know we're going to bed. When it's time for the dogs to go outside I can't yell "Cody, Lady and Linus time to go out." If she's sleeping I have to walk into the room, tap her on her bottom and use hand signals so she'll know she has to go out. That is how we now get her when we need her to go. Sounds funny, but it works. She's learned that when we motion her to come she needs to follow and when we point she knows she needs to go in that direction. I'm glad we've learned to improvise, but in a way it makes me sad. She doesn't miss much though. We've got her and another dog who is 13 and then one more that is 3. The youngest dog now hears everything and when she runs out to bark the other two will automatically follow. So she still gets to go out and bark at people walking by or at the neighbors, but she probably doesn't know why.

Even though it has been nice not having her bark every single time the doorbell rings or the mailman pulls up I miss that she can't hear. I hate that she can't hear when I tell her what a good dog she is. I also don't like the fact that I don't feel as protected. I never worried about people snooping around our house. Now I sometimes do and I wish I didn't. She's been a great dog and is very healthy despite not being able to hear. I hope we're able to have her around for many years to come!