Two years ago I passed by a house with rows of dog-filled cages in the backyard. I found myself stopped in the driveway, then wandering toward these cages. A tiny white Boxer puppy caught my eye. She was hiding in the corner of a pen covered in dirt and fleas. She had one big blue eye. She looked afraid, and the other puppies in the pen trampled her in an attempt to gain my attention. An elderly man came out to yell, "you don't want that one, it's deaf!" I removed the starving dog from the cage, and the old man informed me that her mother had rejected her. He hadn't provided her with supplemental milk. I took that puppy with home with me that day, and reported the breeder for negligence and abuse. The puppy was bilaterally deaf. We soon discovered that she had food allergies, and she had trouble walking. Our vet diagnosed her with bilateral MPL, and performed two surgeries on her legs. It has taken a couple of years, but she is finally perfectly healthy. She is the happiest living being that I've ever met. She wiggles when she sees people come through the door, she climbs in my lap to kiss me, and she sleeps beside me nightly. I named her Goose because of her habit of imitating the ducks and geese at the park. She ducks her head then comes up sputtering. Surgeries did not slow her down, and nothing has broken her spirit. She has learned hand signals, won obedience competitions, and made countless people smile. Everyday she proves to me that pain and misery can be overcome with compassion and patience. She has also taught me the importance of deaf-dog rescue. Adopt a deaf dog. You won't regret it.

Jessica C. Aderholt
Sheffield, AL