Because she wasn’t given walks, properly socialized, and didn’t live inside a house, Jersey wasn’t house-trained and kept her distance from most people.

Working together, Rescue Road and PAWS New England (PAWS NE) placed Jersey into a loving foster home where she lived with Shelly, her foster mom and Layla, a fellow PAWS NE alumnus.

With some love and training, Jersey started to come out of her shell and show her sweet personality. She followed Layla’s lead when it came to play, where to sleep, and the best way to earn more treats. Shelly also started house training Jersey and slowly but surely she began to do her business outside.

PAWS NE listed Jersey for adoption on their website where she captured her forever family’s attention. “I saw her soulful eyes and I was sold,” said Kathy, Jersey’s adopted mom. After a careful vetting process, Kathy and her family officially adopted Jersey who continues to thrive in her new home.

Jersey and Oakley, the family’s four-year-old Golden Retriever are best friends who do everything together. Kathy said, “I have never seen anything like the bond Jersey and Oakley share. They sleep in the same bed together at night.” Jersey continues to make great strides with house training and understands that taking care of her business outside leads to plenty of yummy treats.

Kathy is so happy that Jersey joined her family. “Jersey is a blessing to our family who continues to melt our hearts.”

This past weekend we transported our first group of dogs brought in from the cold up to New England. In New England, they are in foster homes while we help to find the perfect adoptive homes for them. This would not have been possible without your support. We wanted to take the time to show you where your donations are going too!

These are the expenses from just last week - we will have many more this week as we have many more dogs to get to vets or out of boarding, into fosters homes down south and in New England. We are working hard to bring more of these dogs to New England!

Sadly, not all our stories have happy endings, but all began with compassion. Some of you may have seen sweet Legend who was brought in during this work. Legend was found emaciated and near death on a property. Upon exam, it was found that she had an irreparable megaesophagus. The specialist who treated her felt that her megaesophagus was not conducive to a life without constant pain and suffering, and she was therefore humanely see free from her pain - a hard choice made from our hearts and the only one for her that made sense.

We can honor Legend by continuing our mission of helping dogs in need, and thanking you for your ongoing support. We know that you, our supporters, give all you are able to when we ask. We thank you for sharing what you are able to - your time, your money, your love and your attention.

Thank you.

Record breaking cold is sweeping the country, and while you might be reading on the news how many customers are without power, what you aren’t seeing in the news is the faces of the dogs who live outside in this cold. Some have homes where they remain chained outside - with a crate, perhaps with a tarp to shield the wind. Others are strays who may miss the touch of human’s hands scratching their ears, but may also be lucky in their ability to hide under a warm house.

Our southern volunteers are teaming up with All 4s Rescue League who have been going around Memphis trying to help where they can - with tarps, straw or dog food. We’ve asked our volunteers to round up as many dogs as they can and get them to the safety of a boarding facility.

We have pulled 40 so far and can’t wait to share their rescue stories with you. Follow our progress on our facebook page: www.facebook.com/PawsNewEngland

How to Know if Your Dog is Deaf

Most commonly, dog

To determine if your pup is hard-of-hearing, you can do simple at-home tests like making sounds to get your dog’s attention, or rattling keys in front of your dog’s ears. If you suspect your dog is deaf, you may want to take them to the vet to run an official BAER test.

Training A Deaf Dog

As with any dog, training a deaf dog takes time and patience. There are some ways in which deaf and hearing dogs learn quite similarly. Repetition, reward, and consistency remain the pillars of success—however there are a few key differences:

• You must establish eye contact with deaf dogs before you can properly train them. While eye contact is an important piece of training for all dogs, its especially necessary when training a deaf dog. Because deaf dogs cannot hear you – eye contact is there way of actively listening to you. This means that it’s particularly important that you establish and reward regular eye contact early on in training our deaf dog.
  
• Deaf dogs are reliant on visual cues. Once you have the attention of a deaf dog, you’ll need to associate behaviors with hand cues. It’s not unusual for most owners to use hand signals when training their dogs, however some words like “no” or “yes” might not be traditionally represented by hand. When your deaf dog does a command poorly, or well, have a unique way of visually letting them know. You should also consider creating a signal for your dog’s name. See the video below for a sample of visual cues:
  
  

This can make training a little more difficult in cases where your dog isn’t right in front of you—for example when they are in another room or several yards away. Consider investing in a vibrating collar to send your dog physical cues when he is not looking or is out of eyesight.

Challenges of Living with a Deaf Dog

Training a deaf dog takes some additional patience but is quite similar to training any other pup once you get the hang of it. There are a few other challenges that owning a deaf dog can pose in your day-to-day life.

• Deaf dogs startle more easily. When owning a deaf dog, keep in mind that they cannot hear you or others approaching. It’s best to walk toward them from the front and teach kids not to pet them from behind. You can also let deaf dogs know you are coming by stomping a bit louder as you approach. TO wake a sleeping deaf dog, touch them gentle on the shoulder—or another consistent spot—but avoid petting their head.
  
• Get into a routine. One great way to provide any dog with a sense of comfort, is by establishing a daily routine. Feed and walk your dog on a consistent schedule, use the same cues before a bath or meal time. Create as much stability as you can for your pup.
  
• Have a fenced in yard and walk them on a leash. Exercise is crucial for most deaf dogs, however calling your dog to come back to you is not an option for these pups. Deaf dogs are also less able to sense danger, like oncoming cars, or wildlife, so a fenced in yard and on-leash walks are important for their safety.
  
  

Who Should Consider Adopting a Deaf Dog

Just about anyone with the right home, and the right level of patience and love can and should consider adopting a deaf dog. As with any adoption, the most important factor is whether your pup and you have the right personality and chemistry to form a loving bond.

If you’re considering adopting a deaf dog, take a look at our spotlight on Petunia Rose.  https://pawsnewengland.com/pup-profile-petunia-rose/

Like a leather sofa or a well-worn pair of jeans, certain dogs take time to mold to you—to become a part of your life and your home. A bit stiff at first, but conforming to you in a way that makes life without them seem impossible, Petunia is this type of dog.

Several months into fostering Petunia, her mother Susan ends each evening with what has become a ritual in her household. Evening snuggle time is followed by a silly little slow-dance before sending Petunia off to sleep for the night.

“She truly is a special girl,” Susan says, “There is a lot to love about Petunia.”

Petunia’s Past

While petunia resides in the comfort of her foster’s home in New Hampshire right now, life was not always easy for this pup. Raised in a puppy mill, petunia was neglected from a young age, and never given the proper care or understanding that is so crucial to a dog’s development during her early years. To make matters more challenging for her, Petunia is also deaf, making the world around her hard to understand.

Imagine if you will, a childhood in which people expect certain behaviors of you, but cannot communicate what those behaviors are. This is Petunia’s reality, and it has left her with several challenges that any future pup-parent will need to be aware of and prepared to tackle with patience and understanding.

Petunia Rose does not know how to interact appropriately with people or other animals, and while she is capable of becoming accustomed to people over time, her future owner will likely have to accept that she isn’t going to be the dog you can take to cook outs or be the friendly dog that interacts with your guests when you have a party.

So often, this concerns pet owners because our dogs aren’t being who WE want them to be. But, is this really the right way of thinking?

As Helen St. Pierre, of No Monkey Business Dog Training, says, “Not all dogs want to play with other dogs past adulthood… There’s nothing wrong with them, it’s us humans that need a lesson… if your dog doesn’t like other dogs, I can help them work through some of that   but can’t force them to enjoy playing with another dog the same way I can’t force you to like someone else if you just don’t. Enjoy your dog for who they are, rather than worrying about who they aren’t.”

Is Petunia Right for You?

Petunia may not be the life of the party, but she will be your best friend.

She is bouncy, adorable, and you can’t help but smile when her eyes meet yours. After an assessment with dog trainer, we discovered that Petunia is more skilled than she lets on. She will sit, stay, and has quite the ability to pick up on environmental cues given her disability.

The right household for Petunia would be one where she is the only pet, there are no kids, and she has a fenced in yard to play in. Ideally, her next owner is not a first-time dog owner, and has a lot of patience and love to give. Her owner does not need deaf dog experience but should commit to at least one training session with a CPDT-KA certified trainer after adoption (which PAWS New England will financially support).

Are you looking for a best friend, and a dog that desperately deserves a loving home?

Petunia will be a challenge for her new owner, this is certain. But out of life’s hardest challenges, we often find the most beautiful rewards – like a dog who loves to dance, even if she can’t hear the music.

A 12lb yorkie/poodle mix had been hit by a car and had devastating fractures to both of her back legs. Surgical and treatment costs would exceed $7,000 and the rescue facility could not afford that level of care.

But volunteers instantly fell in love and could not imagine having to euthanize a dog who was only two years old with a treatable injury.

PAWS struggled with what to do.

Our organization was juggling several critical cases and was wracking up veterinary bills at a dizzying pace. Ultimately, we could not say no to Duchess’ soulful eyes.

We decided to transfer her to our incredible partners at Memphis Veterinary Specialists where Duchess underwent several hours of orthopedic surgery.

Duchess underwent three rounds of surgery to facilitate all of the orthopedic repairs that she needed. Her surgeries went smoothly and we all thought that Duchess was on the road to what would be a long, but successful recovery.

This morning we learned the devastating news that Duchess has been diagnosed with parvovirus and had to be transferred to the ICU for lifesaving care. What an unbearably unfair course of events for this precious girl who has already endured so much.

PAWS remains unwavering in our commitment to Duchess, but we are in need of your help. Please consider making a donation towards Duchess’ staggering veterinary bills.

Help give us the resources to continue her life-saving care and give this small girl with a big spirit the chance to live a long and happy life where she will be cherished by an adoptive family.

We will continue to update everyone on her progress, thank you for your support!

Donate

PAWS will be paying tribute to all rescue Moms this Mother’s Day with a beautiful Mother’s Day Card. Each card will include a photo collage of a former Mama dog rescued by Paws New England. For $25, what dog-loving Mom would not love to have lifesaving vaccinations and medications donated to a pet in their honor? Or perhaps a dog bed and blankets to keep them warm while they are awaiting a forever home for $50? And, for a donation of $150, what Mother would not love to look at a picture of a dog whose life was saved in her honor, with the name of her choosing! We hope you will participate in this very special event.

You can celebrate a special woman in your life and help save a life!!

Clementine (age 9) and Suzy (age 2) are a bonded Mother/Daughter pair looking for their forever home. They have survived a horrible past, together. Find out more information about us here.

Click here to order your cards!

Paws New England would like to thank Phil Smith Photography for donating their time and talent to capturing the love of this mother/daughter pair.