Dakota in Dog Fancy Magazine!

Dakota and Kimberly

Allow me to introduce Kimberly Mockler, who I had the pleasure of getting to know. Not only is she an ally of the Deaf community but also her hearing dog, Mocha, and they live with another dog, Dakota, who is deaf and now blind. She uses touch signals with Dakota (taps on different parts of her body to mean different things). What I found admirable about her is she didn't give up easily on Dakota, given that Dakota wasn't an easy dog. Not because she's deaf or blind but she just is! She gave her blood, sweat and tears to get Dakota where she is today. Click on the picture above to enlarge and read with enthusiasm!

On another note, Kimberly is awaiting for a deaf/blind pup, Kelen, to get to her home to be fostered. With Kimberly's experience and how much she achieved with Dakota, Kelen will be in good hands. Kelen will be available for adoption in the NYC metro area. Contact Kimberly if you are interested.

More recently, Dakota along with her buddy, Mocha, won third place for a heartwarming story by petfinder. Give Kimberly's dogs a round of applause!

http://blog.petfinder.com/petfinder/2008/12/17/read-these-heartwarming-happy/

To learn more about the unfortunate merle-to-merle breeding that often results in deaf and blind dogs by irresponsible breeders, go to:

http://www.aussielads.com/merle_to_merle.htm