Landon

***UPDATE 4/10/09 LANDON HAS A WONDERFUL FAMILY WHO IS GOING TO ADOPT HIM. THEY HAVE AGREED TO CONTINUE THE TRAINING WE HAVE BRIEFLY STARTED HERE. ****
Landon is a 9 week old Great Dane puppy - he is already a very big boy! He weighs 30 pounds already and has HUGE paws. Landon thinks he is much smaller and entertains us trying to fit into small spaces :) He is such a sweet boy and wants to learn and please but he is still a puppy and needs a lot of patience and time to learn hand signals to train him.

This site has the hand signals we are using for Landon:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/9576/trainer.html

Because of his size, he will be adopted to a family with children over 12 years old.
He is not currently available, as we want to get strated training him so when he goes to his forever home, he has the basics down.
Landon will be neutered prior to adoption- he is UTD on all vaccines and on flea preventative.
If you are interested in adopting Landon, please continue watching his page for more information- we anticipate him being ready for his forever home sometime near the end of May/ beginning of June.


Top 10 reasons to adopt a Deaf Dog
-although I can think of about 100 more...
1.) You are forced to learn something new. Me? I had to learn how to TRAIN Aurora. It was new for both of us, and that was very rewarding and very bonding.
We got to 'know' each other as I learned ASL (american sign language) and taught her the meanings of the hand signals. I became so passionate about ASL that someday I hope to be able to become an interpreter for people, as well as continuing to train other deaf dogs.

2.) You realize you don't know as much as you think you do. I thought I pretty much knew everything 'basic' about dogs that there was to know. How much is there to know, really? Well, a LOT to be honest!
I've realized the subtleties that exist in the way dogs communicate. When you work with a deaf dog, you realize it's NOT all about the voice, but about the energy, the body movements and body language and facial expressions. Nothing is trivial. I never realized it as much as I do since Aurora came into my life.

3.) Life is never boring with a 'deafie'. I can't think of a day that has gone by in the past 2 years with Aurora that she hasn't made me giggle, smile, our outright laugh hysterically at some of her behaviors. I have no idea why she does it, but when it's lunch or dinner time for Aurora, she runs around my living room, chasing her own shadow and barking at it. Why? I have no idea...but it sure is kind of cute.

4.) You WILL be challenged. You have to THINK, you have to learn, you have to really work 'out of the box' when training and working with a deaf dog. You have to be creative. I've come up with some pretty interesting and silly hand signals and movements to help me communicate with Aurora. I guess you could say that at this point, I could become a pretty good mime. I've learned to not just smile and look happy when she does something right, but to OVERexaggerate so she understands that my reaction to what she does is Positive. I have to overact 'angry' if she does something wrong, while doing a 'no-no' ASL hand sign. It seems like everyday I'm honing my non-verbal communication, but it's really been rewarding and helped me in other areas of my life as well. Don't underestimate the importance of NOT speaking!

5. You will be amazed at what they can do. There's a saying in the deaf community, 'the deaf can do anything you can do, but hear'. I always say Aurora can do everything hearing dogs can do, except hear.
To date, Aurora knows over 25 'words'/hand signals, she knows tricks like dance, speak (she's learning individual words now- like saying 'aurora' and 'mama'). Aurora graduated from Basic Obedience at the top of her class, along with a 3 legged dog. The two of them put all the hearing dogs in the class to shame several times! Soon after graduating, Aurora also passed her therapy dog test and is now going into her 2nd year as a certified/registered therapy dog with Therapy Dogs Incorporated.

6.) You may find yourself volunteering more and becoming an activist! (and that's a good thing!)
Personally, I've found myself spending more and more time educating everyone we meet about deaf dogs. Did you know that many/most breeders, when they find they have a deaf dog in a litter, just outright euthanize it, not even giving the dog a CHANCE at any type of life? Knowing and loving Aurora, I give thanks everyday that her original breeder didn't know she was deaf before shipping her out to her new home. If things were different, Aurora might not be here today, and anyone who has met her can tell you that the world would be a little emptier without her in it. There is no reason breeders should 'play God' and decide that a deaf dog doesn't deserve a happy, loving, fulfilling life just like hearing dogs get. Yes, I have gotton very political and very outspoken since I got Aurora, and I'm happy. I feel like I can make a difference and help save lives that deserve to be saved. Now I check craigslist, kijiji, petfinder and other classifieds for people listing deaf dogs. I try to get them in touch with the deaf and disabled dog rescues. In the future, I hope to meet more and more dog breeders and let them know that if they breed a deaf dog, I would love to get it from them and give it a fighting chance at a wonderful life. Isn't that a God-given right? Who is qualified really to decide who lives and who dies? I think they all deserve a chance.

7.) The bond you have with a deaf dog is for life and is unbreakable. They count on you to show them what to do, they watch you to see how YOU react to things, so they know how to react. They follow you and look to you for help, support and love. They trust you 100% and give you everything they have. To me, THAT'S priceless.

8.) You get to meet a lot of truly incredible, amazing people. Go to the deaf dogs yahoo group, D2Care.org, deafdogs.org, or my absolute favorite new rescue I've discovered: http://www.petswithdisabilities.org/
Read some of the stories, meet the people who run these rescues and sites. They're ANGELS, saviors, caring, loving people who do so much and sacrifice so much to help dogs who no one else will help. In this sometimes selfish, scary world it's comforting to know that individuals like Joyce Darrell and her husband Michael Dickerson are out there. They founded Pets with Disabilities. Support them and do all you can, because they do! We should all be so lucky as to have people like them on our side.

9.) It wouldn't be me to not put something funny in here, so here goes! You don't have to worry about your dog barking at the doorbell, being afraid of thunder or fireworks, and they won't run to the kitchen when you open a bag of chips. For more, visit the humor page here: http://deafdogs.org/faq/humor.php

10.) Your life will never be the same: it will be BETTER. If I have to explain that, you haven't been paying attention. ;)

Yes, we adopt out of state, however you MUST be willing to pick up your pet at the foster home. We do NOT ship any of our pets, please do not ask.

If interested in adding this wonderful pet to your family please first review Adoption Information and procede to complete the online application.

As our gift to you for adopting a rescued pet, all of NLOL's adoptable pets are sent home with a FREE 30 day Sheltercare insurance policy.