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Cayla, our daughter of four, was in love with the idea of having a Dalmatian as a pet. Knowing this is true of alot of kids, I told her we'd need to wait until she turned five years old, and be sure that this is a commitment she still felt she wanted to handle. In the meantime, occasionally I would search the web for information on Dalmatians, unknown Cayla. I found lots of them that needed homes, but many were deaf. Some had problems that could be overcome, but I wasn't sure I was ready for it. You see, Cayla had been born handicapped. She had surgery to enable her to walk. She still sees a therapist for her hands and general posture. She has defied all odds. She walks, she runs, she hops...all the doctors said she'd never do any of that. So she is special, and I wanted her to have a special dog to be able to call her "own". It was January, 2004 when I again clicked on the Dalmatian rescue list. For some reason, the picture and description of Star just fit....even though we were going to wait, I had a gut feeling that this dog would be right for us. I talked (at length) to her foster mom, and a visit to Star was arranged. Another daughter, Cayla, and I drove to Boulder to meet Star. We liked her, she got along with us, and we ended up bringing her home. She has been a delight to us, and is very sweet and loving. She sits with my daughter, her head on Cayla's lap, watching TV, or Cayla will "read" Star a storybook. |
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Although Star is deaf, her foster mom showed us the commands she knows, and that is what we use to communicate with her. She never takes her eyes off of any one of the three of us, with the exception of playing with my white shepherd. And those two dogs are wonderful together. They can even chew rawhide bones without arguing as some dogs will do! We keep Star on a leash at all times, she does have proper "I am deaf" tags, her current shot tags, and a microchip. We put a bell on her collar so that we always know where she is, in the event that she gets sidetracked. We always approach Star knowing she can't hear us, and make sure if she is asleep that we wake her gently. She has not been a problem in any area! I look forward to many years ahead with her and our family! The one other thing I would like to add, is that I have learned alot about myself from Star. I have only ten percent hearing in the right ear, and no hearing in my left ear. I do use a hearing aid, but if someone is behind me, I don't hear them all the time, or know which direction the sound is coming from. So we are all a match, we all love each other, and Star has a home for all eternity! Marci |
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