Deaf Animals now has a Facebook Group. Come join us there as well!
The more people know that deaf animals are as lovable, smart and loyal as hearing animals, less deaf animals and siblings will be left behind at shelters and euthanized. Spread awareness and love for Deaf Animals by joining us at facebook - for you with facebook accounts, click here to join!
I am a photographer, writer and long-time animal lover who has lived in the Philadelphia area for the last 7 years. I currently live in Manayunk with my beautiful deaf dog, Sadie, who is a border collie/lab mix. I rescued her from the Bucks County SPCA in Lahaska, where she was dumped off along with all of her littermates. Sadie's mother was deaf, her owner neglected to have her spayed, and she passed on her genetic deafness to all of her puppies (all but one who could hear slightly). Sadie was at the shelter for a month and a half before I found her and adopted her. Sadie knows about 20 signs, but most of the time chooses to look away from me when she knows I'm signing something that she doesn't want to "listen" to! ;)
I'm travelling around the United States and Canada, visiting and photographing families with their deaf dogs. The end result will be a deaf-dog photo book, which will be for sale as a fundraiser for groups that educate the public about deaf dogs and/or specifically rescue deaf dogs. I will also be visiting and photographing rescues that work specifically with deaf dogs, as well as visiting city shelters to find out how they treat/deal with the deaf dogs who are surrendered to them. I hope this book will not only raise money for these groups, but also educate the public about deaf dogs, and even be an inspiration for people trying to overcome any obstacles in their lives.
I guarantee that I and other deaf people outside of Arizona are envious of you, Deaf Arizonans! You have a deaf veterinarian all ready to serve you and your animals. His name is Dr. Neil Holmes. Check below:
Dr. Neil Holmes is a veterinarian who can treat your animals at the River Ridge Veterinary Hospital located in Buckeye, southwest of Phoenix. If you want ease and clarity of communication without an interpreter or paper notes back & forth, bring your four-footed friends here for good care!
Dr. Holmes has been a veterinarian for 10 years. He has recently started working at River Ridge Veterinary Hospital and looks forward to helping you take care of your animals.
Send an email to the above address and ask for a 10% off first visit coupon and a map to the clinic.
How many of you would like to see Earl be voted as the Dog of the Month!?!? Let's show them what Deaf community is made of, given its close-knittedness nature and the power of networking in the community. Even for the animals! It will help bring publicity to deaf animals that are often not given a chance. A deaf dog doesn't only represent deaf dogs but all deaf animals and mammals imaginable out there! Just take a moment to cast your vote.
Go to this site below and click on view current entries. Once there, scroll down to find Earl:
I hate to be the bearer of this sad reality as no one does, but I feel this is important to educate the public. This hit me when one of the deaf cat adopters contacted me to inform me that his friend wants to know if she can have a deaf cat or deaf dog that is not spayed/neutered. I explained why it is not going to happen, which this adopter did relay but that person didn't believe it and want to hear it from me. So, I thought I'd might as well let more than one person learn by sharing here.
I will be no part nor do I support in allowing someone to get an unspayed and unneutered pets, be it deaf or hearing. I do know that no rescue groups, foster homes or shelters across the nation will adopt out an animal without having it spayed and neutered because they're very aware of the real and tragic problems affecting our furry friends.
All kind of cats and dogs there are, mixed or purebreed, they are euthanized, including kittens and puppies everyday at shelters. They do not deserve this at all and people contributed to this either by ignorance, selfish reason or greed. It is humans who contribute to the overpopulation of cats/dogs and we need to take the responsibility in spaying and neutering our pets and educating others the importance in doing so. Below are two videos:
By watching these videos, I hope it will make you realize that when you buy a dog or cat, you kill those that are waiting in the shelter. When you do not fix your dog or cat, their offsprings will be dropped off in shelter too you'll never know about and will not help save these animals in shelter, also waiting for home before their euthansia date.
Do not buy dogs from pet store as they come from puppymill where these dogs are used as breeding machine, living in unsanitary crates forever. The more they see they are not making $$, they'll stop and it's better for the puppy mill dogs. To learn more about puppy mills, go to:
Please think about how each one of us, as a human, can help make a difference and save a life. The animals rely on us for our hands/voice. It is with hopes that after this blog, the person or anyone who want an unspayed and unneutered pet will now understand that it means death for infinite of innocent animals.
Pennsylvania is known as the east capital of the Puppy Mills. The issue of puppy mills will be on Oprah's show tomorrow, so tune in to watch! For more information, go to this site:
At this moment, not all of them can be saved but down the road with all of our help other than adoption, foster and rescue. Start with ABC -- Animal Birth Control -- to help end homelessness of animals. A campaign is done by PETA about this at:
While I appreciate some of Carl's blogs/vlogs on http://carl-schroeder.blogspot.com/ about deafhood and linguistics when it comes to people, I was disheartened and saddened by what he expressed and how this deaf and blind puppy had to endure based on what he said in his vlog.
There were some things I noticed that were not done appropriately that may have contributed to this puppy's fear. Puppies do not come out of the womb afraid for no reason. Nothing doesnt seem to be done carefully and slowly to allow this puppy time for adjustment with every new thing at a time but instead was bombarded with everything thrown at its way. This is pretty obvious because this puppy was brought home at one month old or so and already given up within a few months with everything I read that shouldn't happen. This puppy was set up to fail. It is my observation that this puppy had a bad start and is not at fault.
#1 -- This puppy wasn't given time to bond and develop trust with one person who'll become its master, become familiar and comfortable with its home environment/territory and learn commands before introducing to other humans or animals, one by one with plenty of time space in between.
#2 -- This puppy with these special needs should not be in a home with young children and would be better off with one adult or two in the home. Who can expect children this young, 10, 8 and 6 not to leave things around, tease the dog or step on it? No one should be allowed to throw a ball at a deaf and blind dog or expect it to fetch a ball. Throwing ball, as common sense indicates, is inaccessible therefore not accomodating for this kind of dog. Tug of war rope or some kind of independent toys that it plays on its own would suit a deaf-blind dog.
#3 -- Why change dog food when the puppy was eating the old dog food and let it starve? Too much changes in short time is not good at all. With the puppy not being toilet trained, go figure with everything that has gone wrong from the start and at that age.
#4 -- Deaf animals require touching to replace the lack of sound along with sight but with a deaf-blind dog, it requires a whole lot more of touching to make up for lack of sound AND sight. It depends on tactile communication. I do not see any of this and I perfectly can see why this puppy gets frightened by touch it hardly was exposed to.
Just because a person is deaf and works with deaf or deaf-blind people doesn't make the person qualified to consult or train about a deaf or deaf-blind animals just as much as just because the person is hearing and works with hearing people doesn't make the person qualified to consult or train a hearing animal. There are people experienced and/or specialized in caring for those kind of animals.
With that said, the puppy was in the hands of people who do not know how to deal with a deaf and blind dog. It has absolutely nothing to do with the puppy being blind on top of being deaf that failed him. It is human who failed this puppy and the puppy chose to stay at one place and not move because it has no clue and has given up trying. I can imagine it being confused and scared. It won't surprise me if this puppy was euthanized by sheer arrogance and ignorance of some people involved.
There are success stories of deaf-blind dogs who lead a normal life by people who know how to deal with them rather than giving up and blaming on their blindness. Who are we, deaf people, to talk like that about blindness when the majority in our society views our deafness just like how deaf people views those who are blind? Anything deaf is not superior than anything deaf-blind when it comes to animals. For anyone in deaf community to say that, is it a projection that also meant deaf-blind people as well are inferior to us, deaf people?
Check this link at http://www.pawstoadopt.com/blindanddeafdogs/ and it has a lot of wonderful resources as a guide for deaf-blind dogs and I absolutely concur with it. Reading this will show that this deaf-blind puppy did not receive proper care and training. It took this deaf-blind dog in this link a year to learn this one thing.
"It is the ultimate test of our worth as individuals and countries how we treat the most vulnerable and disadvantaged."Sir William Deane, Former Governor General, Australia.
The Metrowest Animal Society has asked DeafAnimalRow if they could post it here to see if there is anyone to volunteer and help with transportation. Two deaf brother cats, Harpo and Zeppo, have found a wonderful home in DC close to Gallaudet, and yes together! We are in search of anyone who plans to drive from Massachusetts to one of these cities, NYC or Philadelphia or DC. Now, if the person will go to NYC from Massachusetts, then I need to know if there's someone from NYC who is able to transport the cats to Philadelphia or straight to DC. This is all voluntary and is how it works with rescues. Please contact DeafAnimalRow@gmail.com. Thank you.
Petfinder has made this announcement on their site to recognize the existence of deaf cats and dogs. It is great that even deaf animals are honored during the Deaf Awareness Week.
This person, I will leave the name out, who sent the original link and made this comment, "My only objection is using George Strain as an expert. While his information about deafness in dogs, per se, is excellent, his commentary on deaf dogs themselves is NOT. He is not sure they should be allowed to survive. He is sort of in league with the Dal Club." Why she mentioned George in the same league as The Dalmatian Club of America (DCA)? Here is their horrifying position on deaf Dalmatians. What's even great is this person is hearing and doesn't agree with George nor DCA. I do not want any of deaf animals to fall in his or anyone's hands for labatory purpose. Let's hope for a better expert on deaf animals in the future where pathological view is absent.
What a great irony about Petfinder's, who has no affiliation with the Deaf community, recognizance of deaf pets as part of the Deaf Awareness Week is that our own Deaf community has not recognizes deaf pets as a part of our community. Here's something for you to ponder: How many of you folks in the Deaf community, deaf or hearing, have a deaf pet? Something for you to think about :)
The thought of toys that would be accessible for deaf dogs/cats have not crossed my mind until I adopted 2 deaf dogs. It is when I realize most of the toys are sound based, mostly for dogs, where toys are made of squeaky or any other sound. At night time, they couldn't hear the bounce of a ball to trace it and go after it or play with it. What I found and bought at the stores are one that glows at night and the other would flash when the ball makes an impact. These are a few that are accessible to both deaf and hearing dogs. Here is a few of them but you can do search for more:
Toys for cats appear to be more visual than found among toys for dogs although many do come with sound. One of my deaf dogs loves cat toys as they are highly visual but they are destructible by a dog. For instance, feather, strings or anything movable. He prefers them over dog toys any day/time. If I am to let him play with cat toys, it has to be under my supervision where I play with him. Wish there are more highly visual toys made for dogs and I'm sure not only deaf dogs will enjoy them but also hearing dogs.
Eventhough I do not have cats, I was curious about toys for deaf cats. I went food shopping and ended up in pets aisle. I decided to look at what they have, I found a small ball that glows at night and another one where it flashes that also comes with bird sound (good for a household that have deaf and hearing cats) or one that only flashes. These are something deaf cats can enjoy at nighttime as it's when they are at their wildest selves :) Here are a few of them but you can do search for more:
TNR is an abbreviation known as Trap, Neuter and Release. It is a program dedicated to reduce overpopulation of feral (wild) cats. Some are semi tame or tame enough to try finding a home for while most are released back with volunteers providing them food, shelter and water for the rest of their lives. For a male cat, it only requires 24 hours to stay indoor to recover after surgery and it takes a female cat several days.
TNR is strictly for feral cats, but the clinic also welcomes stray cats if needed. The overpopulation of feral cats has gotten out of control. Sadly, feral cats were originated from domestic cats where irresponsible owners do not spay/neuter their cat(s) and let them roam freely outside. Unneutered male cats are the worst as they can impregnate several female cats outside. Nevertheless, both sexes need to be spayed and neutered. It is the hands of many humans that caused the suffering of cats, be it they starve, freeze, get disease, are neglected, tortured and/or be killed.
For one cat that you do a TNR, you are saving about 12 thousands offsprings in 7 years and multiply that with several cats you help do a TNR. You'll be making a world of difference in the lives of these cats. There are volunteers involved in TNR and there's always need for more volunteers. The goal is to see less and less feral cats. It is more cost-effective and humane than having them euthanized.
If you are interested to help or get involved in your community, go to this alleycat website I am involved in this in my area and I've met these volunteers. They're caring and wonderful people. I have dropped off a feral cats I trapped to be fixed (spayed or neutered). It is inspiring to witness many volunteers with feral kittens/cats in their trapper(s) or carrier(s) to be fixed. They have about 100 or so lined up to be fixed. Since my dogs are not cat-friendly, this is the least I can do for these cats and will house them in a closed door room on a temporary basis.
This atlas will allow you to view all of these different kind of deaf dogs in some parts of the world that are in a loving home with a family. If you happen to want a meet up between your deaf dog and other people's in your area or get feedback and support or want to learn more about deaf dogs before adopting, this is one way to check it out and get in touch with them. It appears that United States of America out of all countries have the most deaf dogs. If you already have a deaf dog(s), you can add yours on the atlas.
Anyone considering participating in rescue should be aware that:
1. It CAN be either short-term (maybe overnight or a few weeks) to longterm (could be months to years) until a forever home is found.
2. Unless otherwise agreed upon by the rescue or potential adopters, decisions regarding its health and welfare are purely yours.
3. Unless otherwise agreed upon, you MAY be responsible for 100% of the cost of fostering an animal.
4. Unless otherwise agreed upon, transports are also on your own dime.
5. You most likely will fall immediately in love with the animal. Remember, if you are transporting, the animal is not yours.
6. Most of the time a foster or transport is uneventful. But keep in mind that things that CAN go wrong with a foster or transport WILL go wrong.
7. The rescue organizer and the transporters are all generally very good people. They, along with others in the rescue group, are good support. Rely on them for any help.
8. The foster MAY not get along with your animals.
9. These animals MAY come with issues regarding their life experience.
10. If you have one of these, it will be your responsibility to work with the animal to overcome these issues, and be VERY honest with the potential adopters about its needs.
11. There is a lot that goes into one rescue/transport/ foster, so do not think you are doing ALL the work.
12. It is one of the most difficult but most satisfying jobs you will ever undertake.
In this ASL vlog, Raychelle introduces the Deaf Animal Row blog and discusses the parallels between the deaf community and deaf animals, and how our indifference can lead to the demise of the deaf community.
English transcription of Raychelle’s vlog by Katherine. The bold is Katherine’s addition to Raychelle’s English transcription of her vlog.
Hello! Welcome to our Deaf Animal Row blog/vlog. It is for deaf animals, who are on deathrow, across the United States. Many of deaf animals are put to sleep due to their inability to hear as a result of people’s ignorance. Often when deaf animals are born -- dogs, cats, ferrets or any other deaf animal -- some people are uncertain how to deal with deaf animals because they are used to aural/oral approach of raising and training an animal. In addition, some people view deaf animals as second class to hearing animals, unfortunately, and feel deaf animals are better off euthanized. Because of their lack of awareness of or exposure to the importance of gestural/visual based approach, deaf animals are set up to fail.
Here’s the definition for each label:
DEATHROW -- A limited time in a shelter before it is put to sleep. No time can be wasted.
RESCUE -- An organization or individual(s) that helps pull out an animal, who is in danger of being put to sleep, from the kill shelter and is safe while trying to look for a foster home or a permanent home.
FOSTER -- An individual offers her/his home to take care of the animal temporarily until adoption.
ADOPT -- An animal found a permanent home.
These labels are how it works with animals. Sometimes it goes from rescue to adopt, skipping foster or from deathrow to adoption. This website uses these labels, including euthanasia. Euthansia happens when no one adopts or rescues the deaf animal from the shelter and it is when the deaf animal will be put to sleep.
Some of you are concerned about how one can get a deaf animal that is not within your area. For example, you are from California and there’s one in Georgia you want to consider, but it is impossible to adopt or foster this deaf animal. Do not fret, there will be some people willing to volunteer their time to help transport the deaf animal from one place to another. This is common in the animal rescue world across the nation, so do not give up and work closely with them. I encourage you to think about it and seek assistance to get a deaf animal from one place to you. It can be worked out if you set your mind to it.
Now, if any one of you have something to share, be it article, stories, information, resources, your experience having a deaf animal, videos, anything you can think of that relates to deaf animals, do not hesitate to send us an email at:
DeafAnimalRow@gmail.com
I want you to know that having deaf animals in our lives is wonderful and they are no different than hearing animals except that it is our job to accommodate to their needs. We rely on lights, vibration, use of eyes, touching, etc. It is really amazing. How we, as deaf people, function in ways that differs from our hearing counterparts parallel to that of deaf animals vs. hearing animals.
Someone from the Deaf community mentioned that deaf animals are different and they’re not one of us or part of the Deaf community. I question that and want to discuss a bit about that. Deaf animals and people’s accommodations and experiences are similar when it comes to oppression and how they’re viewed by the hearing society. Deaf animals and deaf people both rely on gesutral and visual communication. We need to be receptive to the fact that deaf animals rely on visual accommodations rather than sound based approach in order to be on par with hearing animals. Deaf animals are indeed members of the Deaf community and are not to be excluded. Who are we to complain about exclusion by hearing society when we impose the same treatment on the very deaf animals?
Last point, do you remember the last time when www.deafread.com posted someone’s blog or vlog one month or two months ago about this poem by Lilly Benedict Crisman? See her ASL and English versions below:
DEATHROW -- A limited time in a shelter before it is put to sleep. No time can be wasted.
EUTHANSIA -- an animal is put to sleep due to no home is found.
FOSTER -- An individual offers her/his home to take care of the animal temporarily until adoption.
RESCUE -- An organization or individual(s) that helps pull out an animal, who is in danger of being put to sleep, from the kill shelter and is safe while trying to look for a foster home or a permanent home.
UNKNOWN -- Information on animal's status whether it's deathrow, rescued or fostered is not available yet.
2) I want to adopt! I know of a deaf animal needing adoption! I have a good video of my deaf critter! I want to share my story! How do I contact you?
Contact us anytime at DeafAnimalRow@gmail.com
3) If I want to adopt or foster a deaf animal, but the problem is, I live in another state?
Katherine is owned by two of the most sweetest, lovable deaf dogs in the world, as you can see above, Marley and Murray! Katherine is the heart and blood of this site. She is in touch with many shelters and rescuers. She hopes to adopt more deaf animals down the road!
Raychelle is owned by Ava, a wonderful, easy-going and fun deaf cat who isn't afraid of water, especially sinks! Raychelle tries to help when she can juggle working on her dissertation among other things!
Katherine is owned by two of the most sweetest, lovable deaf dogs in the world, as you can see above, Marley and Murray! Katherine is the heart and blood of this site. She is in touch with shelters and rescuers. She hopes to adopt more deaf animals down the road!
Raychelle is owned by Ava, a wonderful, easy-going and fun deaf cat who isn't afraid of water, especially sinks! Raychelle tries to help when she can juggle working on her dissertation among other things!
