Since Tigerlily Asked... Meet Buck, My Foster, A Deaf Border Collie

[sara]

I rescued Buck, a 1 year old deaf white factor blue merle Border Collie off a cattle ranch, where the owner was threatening to have him pts. Buck was not very successful at being a working cattle dog. Alot of it was the owners use of a shock collar. Buck has been VERY harshly trained, and will hit the deck at any quick motion of a hand near him.

I drove 2.5 hours to go get him the day after New Years. He has been incredibly easy so far. He was very skinny, and had a bad case of worms.

He is currently at the vets being neutered. Buck has a home in Ottawa, where he will fly next weekend. I'm really going to miss this guy! he is an awesome dog!!!

Playing with Boo, who is in love with him!

Tandem sniffing with Oliver, my killer terrier lol

Goofy ears!

Thanks for saying hi!

 

[southerngirl]

So cute I love the white face and different colored eyes.

 

[tigerlily46514]

OH Sara, this is wonderful that this dog has found his way to you!! What a perfect match, with your experience with traumatized and deaf dogs, and his background and needs. Awesome!

SO proud of you, for helping out yet another dog in need, this is just the neatest thing!!! Very very kind. Bet both you and Buck both feel like this is a win-win set up.


WHAT A GORGEOUS DOG, TOO!! Wowza!! I'm so glad you posted pictures, and so happy for you both. This new dog will also help fill up the spots where your other two dogs used to be, and i bet Ollie is so happy.
What fabulous markings!
So is this dog the product of a merle-merle breeding? is why he is deaf?

Sara, you have had so many deaf dogs,
do you sense that the hearing dogs realize the other dog is deaf? Does the hearing dog do anything differently towards or for the deaf dog? if that makes sense, like, will hearing dog go over and poke at deaf dog, somehow realizing he didn't hear him, or anything like that?

do your deaf dogs interact any differently with each other, like be a lil more expressive, or not any differently?? just curious.

 

[sara]

Thanks

Buck is not staying. He flies to Ottawa in 2 weeks. He was supposed to go next weekend, but he had complications with his neuter, so he cant fly for 2 weeks.

Buck is not a Double Merle. He is a White Factor Blue Merle. White factor has too much white, and that's why white Boxers and Pitties are deaf as well. His Mom was a Red Merle, and his Dad is a classic black and white. Black and white BC's can be white factor, and deaf as well. deafness isn't limited to merle/merle. However white factor dont have the eye issues. if you notice, Buck's eyes are perfectly normal, whereas Mouse and Boo's... not so much...

No the deaf dogs dont act any different than the hearing dogs, and the hearing dogs dont notice anything different. though I imagine poor Ollie thinks everyone ignores his growls! LOL not that he does anything other than growl... he doesn't back it up with resident dogs LOL I tried to teach Ollie to "get Mouse" but that turned into Whack Mouse, and of no real use... except cute! LOL Very VERY few people have ever noticed any difference in behaviour with their hearing dogs after introducing a deaf from birth dog... However, when my old dog Patches went deaf with age, our terrier, Benji, started laying beside her and barking at things outside, and waking Patchie up, so that she could do her job! LOL as soon as she woke up and started barking too, he quit and went back to napping! LOL But those 2 lived together for 10 years by that time, so he obviously noticed the change.

I need to get a pic of Mouse, Boo and Buck all together. Mouse and Boo are both Double Merles and with Buck being a merle... they all match!!! LOL

 

[tigerlily46514]

Fascinating! thanks for explaining about how deaf dogs interact, and the white/merle thing, wow, i had no idea. You sure know a lot about this!

The side by side doxies is too cute!! They look like artwork porcelain statues that one could buy in an antique shoppe..

A couple of lines cracked me up:
//"Buck is not staying."//

okay, Sara, okay, but we all know how YOU are!! (just teasing ya)


//"I tried to teach Ollie to "get Mouse" but that turned into Whack Mouse, and of no real use... except cute! "//
hilarious! i bet that was funny!




//"Benji, started laying beside her and barking at things outside, and waking Patchie up, so that she could do her job! LOL as soon as she woke up and started barking too, he quit and went back to napping! "//

 

[Anneke]

OMG i'm in love... Glad this guy found a home.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Gorgeous!!! Love the ears. Glad you've found a home for him!

 

[Dogster]

He is sooo cute!! It's great he has a home. Congrats to you for rescuing him!

 

[sara]

Just so you all know. Buck made it to Ottawa yesterday afternoon. He is staying with my Mom, Sister, BIL, Step Niece, Annabelle, Riley, Scout and Zoe till tonight when he'll FINALLY get to go to his forever home! Everyone there is in love with him! My sis says that if they didn't have 4 dogs in their house already, Buck would never make it to her co-worker! LOL. I told her that if I was better situated and had more time, he would never have left Alberta!!! LOL

Ollie, Mouse and Boo sure miss their playmate though, and I wont lie... I shed some tears when I left him at the airport

Funny guy had to leave me with a memory though... I was walking him before he had to go in, and we were walking along, with Buck sniffing and mooching arouns, when all the sudden SNAP! SQUEEK- SQUEEK! He'd caught and killed a mouse!!! What is it with my deafies killing mice??? at least he never got a chance to eat it! I pulled him away when he dropped it momentarily. Mouse on the other hand, when she caught one, took off and hid until it was all gone... wouldn't let me anywhere near her!

 

[Dogster]

YAY!!! I'm SOO glad that even dogs with disabilities can find their forever home!!!! Congrats to Buck on finding a family!!!!!!

 

[sara]

YAY!!! I'm SOO glad that even dogs with disabilities can find their forever home!!!! Congrats to Buck on finding a family!!!!!!

Those of us with deaf dogs have a very well kept secret...

they're better than hearing dogs! LOL

Seriously though, once you've had a deafie, you'll likely have more! They're far from disabled, infact most of us find them easier to train than hearing dogs... I have never once wished my deaf dogs could hear... but I am constantly wishing my hearing dogs were deaf... that says something...

 

[Dogster]

LOL!!! I would definately adopt a deaf or blind dog, or one with missisng legs!!! I'm a sucker for those!!! Most people I know wouldn't do the same.... KUDOS to you!!!!

 

[gi99lepunch]

Hi there,
I hope this isn't too weird, but i was googling images of deaf merle Border collies and i recognized a certain goofy face from this thread!
We adopted our dog (who goes by "Frye" these days ) two summers ago, and i just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for helping him along on his journey.
I met him at a rescue fundraiser where i was taking pet portraits. We were not looking to get a dog at the time at all, but we fell in love pretty hard and the rest is history.
He is such a giant sucky goofball, and we love him to bits!
Thank you so much for giving him a chance, and please know that the work you do is very much appreciated.

Cheers!
A.

 

[sara]

OMG you have totally just made my day! The rescue that ended up with him after his home fell through didn't keep us informed and we all were heartbroken. Every single one of the people that were involved with him fell in love... except the person who adopted him, then dumped him back with my sister. Thank you so very much for the update! He was a very special foster for me, and nearly did stay.

 

[sara]

I can't sleep now because I'm so wired up from your post! Thank you for your kindness in letting me know how he's doing! He is one of a kind and i loved him to bits! If you like, you can look me up on facebook. Pm me for details, if you want... I'd love it!

 

[sara]

Here's my mom's response to my post about this on Facebook:

I have so much to get done while Liam is napping but stupid me decided to quickly check my email & saw all the alerts from you two... so what do I do next??? Yup go on FB & now Liam will be awake in the next 15-20 minutes & I have almost nothing done... HOWEVER I do not care because now I know how Buck is doing & that he has a FOREVER home that sounds like they love him as much as he deserves. I was the one home with him most of the time for the month or more that he spent with us & I had a really hard time handing him over to the lady from the rescue that took him. It broke my heart. He is a beautiful, fun dog that was so gentle & great with little kids (and our other 4 dogs !!) & just wanted/needed to be loved. I could not be happier right now. We talked about driving out to the rescue to see how he was doing but it never happened. Thank you for sharing this and PLEASE let his family know how special we thought he was & how much we loved him. It would be awesome if they could keep in touch & post pics once in awhile. Now I'll try to get something done before Liam wakes up...if I can get the ears to quit !!

 

[Evie]

Buck is so cute!!!

Thanks for the update on him - looks like it's made sara's day... or even week lol. Please stick around on the forum, we're a very friendly bunch

 

[Ripleygirl]

This made me smile! Lovely to hear from you gi99lepunch! I think it is lovely to let Sara know that Frye ("Buck") has his forever home... Love the pics of him - he has so much attitude - he is a star in front of the camera! Hope you'll stick around and meet some other of us!

 

[Anneke]

I love the pics!! It shows the love he has for you and you for him!!

 

[gi99lepunch]

heheh.
@Sara I couldn't stop smiling when i read your responses. I'm glad it made your day!
I was more than a little worried that you might think i was a total nutter.

I totally get the rescue thing and how it sucks being left in the dark. I had an Ausssie/Samo mix i got from rescue a few years ago, and lo-and behold my life circumstances changed dramatically shortly thereafter and it was no longer fair for me to keep him. He was a gorgeous boy, and handled all the drama and stress and upheaval like a champ, but i knew it just wasn't the best situation for him and so i contacted the group i got him from and told them my story.
They were a little brutal with me about it, and i get that, but it was a very unpleasant experience.
In the end my boy got re-homed and i never heard anything until they contacted me about a year later about managing his separation anxiety - his new family was having serious issues and they wanted to know how i had managed it. I had already warned them about it, but i gave them a detailed breakdown and told them they could contact me if they wanted or that i would be available to help in any way. I never heard back and that was that.
I contacted the rescue group some months later to see if things had resolved and they said they never followed up and that no news was good news. I still feel sick when i think about that. Not knowing if things resolved for him eats a little hole in my heart every time i wonder about it. :/
Hence my new philosophy: Good news is Good news! ... and my willingness to take a chance and be that total weirdo lol

And I definitely must agree, This boy is SPECIAL. People in our neighborhood know him. He is constantly making new friends and would happily drag us across the street to go meet kids and babies (and moms are always delighted by his gentleness - always sits politely, no paws, no jumping, no kisses... just biiiig tail wags, big smile and a sideways scootch to get closer before collapsing for belly rubs). We've had people recognize him from his rescue page and come say hello to us. I've had random strangers come over and say "Oh is that that deaf boy... I know him!! well...so and so was telling me..."
As a vet tech i've seen my fair share of fuzzy mugs.... and this boy goes right for your heart.
its a little crazy. but you know that already.

I didn't want to post a billion pictures here, but there are about that many on flickr, if you need a bigger fix.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titanium-white/sets/72157631165485216

You can find me on FB too, as Ariel Tubbins.

thanks again, and see you around, maybe!

A.