I was only 7 weeks old when I was dumped at the Maricopa County AC&C! I am mostly blind and deaf, and I was so scared, I didn’t know anything or anyone!! Lucky they all thought I was cute and kept me in the office with them. They contacted a nice lady (who has a soft spot for Aussies) who worked for a no-kill shelter and she came and rescued me! I was a little less scared, but still very upset and confused. They put me in a kennel and I screamed and screamed! No one knew what to do with me. My mom, who had already adopted my big sister Sage, agreed to foster me, even though she had never had a blind and deaf pup before.
On December 13th, I went to my new home. I was scared, but I wanted to play and have lots of hugs and kisses too. I was so confused I bit my mom and dad HARD and then I hung on because I didn’t know what else to do! I went out in the yard and ran in circles and screamed very loudly! Mom had to go out and stop me and tell me everything was ok.
Mom and Dad treated me like I was any other puppy, and gave me toys, hugs, kisses and LOTS and LOTS of attention. My big sister Sage, who was only a puppy herself at 11 months old realized I needed some help, so she would let me curl up with her and sleep and was always around to help out and teach me stuff I needed to know.
I had been with my mom and dad for 3 weeks and it was almost Christmas. My dad decided I was not going anywhere, and so Mom and Dad officially adopted me! That was my best Christmas present ever!! They put a silly red hat on my head and gave me lots of goodies to chew on for Christmas! I was very happy!
After a while, I did not scream and run in circles. I quit biting hard. I got to help my dad with lots of projects in the yard. I helped rake leaves, put in a sprinkler system and put down sod! It was lots of fun and my doggy brothers and sisters just watched me, as they thought I was silly, but Dad said I was a big help!
Mom said I was a handful! I could not sleep in a crate at night (and I still can’t be in one) because I screamed and screamed. I slept on the bed with them, but they didn’t get much sleep. I chewed the blankets and pulled the curtain through the headboard. Mom had to get up and carry me outside lots of times during the night. It was fun riding on her hip and I like to do that sometimes still! The cool thing was I got to watch TV! I really liked all the shapes and colors. During the day when mom and dad had to work, I was in a kennel. I did not like that at all and I would scream. Then I would poop and pee and run in circles in the kennel and get it all over the place. Mom had to come home every day and clean up the mess and wash my feet. That is how I got my name Poopy Toes.
Finally I got big enough to stay in the kitchen with my sister Sage. Poor Sage was only put in the kitchen to keep me company, and she could not go all over the house like she was used to. The kitchen was much better, and finally I hardly made any messes anymore. I did find some fun things to do though. One day I pulled a jar of bisquits off the counter. The jar was glass and mom and dad were very happy I didn’t get hurt. I would also reach over the baby gate and get things I was not supposed to have. I chewed two of mom’s favorite pair of sandals. Mom said they are “expensive” but I don’t know, it was fun chewing on them. Then I got mom’s sunglasses! She was NOT happy, as they were also “expensive”. One of the last “expensive” things I chewed was the watchbands to her brand new watch! She was not happy at all and moved even more stuff out of my way!
I started to go to puppy obedience classes when I was about 5 months old. Mom would put me in a crate in the car and drive to the class. I would scream and scream all the way there and all the way home. I graduated from my obedience class and the teacher liked me so much that she used me as a demo to show all I had learned for new beginning obedience class.
Mom would take me places and show everyone all the things I could do! People thought that was really neat and they couldn’t believe I am almost blind and deaf. I learned to ride nicely in the car with my big sister Sage. Sage would just lie down and I learned how to do that too. Since I was not in a crate, I did not scream anymore and mom was much happier!
Now that I am all grown up, I still go places to help people learn about puppies like me. We are just puppies, like any other puppy, but since we can’t see and hear like most puppies, we need some time and patience and lots of love. Mom always says all I needed was to be treated like a normal puppy, and then I was fine. She also still says I was the worst puppy ever and no pup has come close to giving her all the grey hairs that I did. She says that is not because I was deaf and blind, but because I was “unsocialized” and also just my personality. I am told I am very smart. Mom says you can’t take a smart active pup and throw them in a kennel all alone and not pay any attention to them! That is very hard on a pup, and very, very, VERY hard on a pup that can’t see or hear and depends on smell and touch to understand!
So that’s why I’m here to help! Mom says there is so much I can teach other moms and dads about helping to understand their blind and/or deaf puppies. They can all grow up like me if they are a loved member of a family! It is my way of letting mom and dad know just how much I love them!
