Yesterday morning when I walked into the dog room to start letting all the bladders I mean dogs out, I could see blind and deaf Spinner had something stuck to her chin. I walked over to the twin bed she sleeps on (yes, she has the whole thing to herself all night long … blind Madison, the only other "at-large" resident in the room all night, uses the dog beds on the floor) for a closer look. It turned out to be a tuft of her own white hair, though how it got there and why it stayed there I don't know. In fact, it managed to cling to her chin long enough for me to walk back down to the people wing to get the camera and come back to take a photo. She's been blowing her coat out in recent days and somehow a piece got on to her chin and decided to hang around.
Anyway, she had been sound asleep when I first walked in and was now awake and stirring, so it wasn't long before she realized something was stuck to her chin. I barely got the photo taken before she shook her head a few times and off it went.
I'm beginning to work on our fall print newsletter, and Spinner will be on the cover for another "originals" issue, where we feature some of the animals who have been here the longest. We've had this wonderful girl for six years now, and she's a great example of how disabled animals in general — and especially those with twin disabilities like hers — can have an amazing quality of life. Of all our disabled animals, it's clear the ones who have the biggest obstacles to overcome in terms of human perception are the ones who are both blind and deaf. So many people can't conceive of how an animal who can't see or hear can still enjoy life.
As you may recall, we put Spencer and Katie, our adorable blind and deaf pair of Dachshunds, up for adoption months ago on PetFinder. Each week I get a report from PetFinder on how many "views" our adoption listings received that week … and Spencer and Katie are always at the top of the list, getting more than 200 views a week. Yet six months later, they are still here. And we know it's because the blind and deaf thing is a show-stopper for most people. Now, don't get me wrong … we don't worry about it and we don't despair over it, because we know that the right person will come along in due course and we can afford to wait for that special home. But is is a sign of how this twin disability can put people off from adopting an otherwise irresistibly cute pair of little dogs.
Thus it's time to put Spinner back on the cover of our newsletter so we can tell her story. I think she was last on the cover way back in 2005!
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Still No. 3 Nationwide!
The current Shelter Challenge started on July 4th and ends at midnight on September 18th. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories … please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Please note: Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up. [Yes, we are still listed as Rolling Dog Ranch for the purposes of the contest, not Rolling Dog Farm.]
Because of your votes, we just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in the last Shelter Challenge. Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too. Thank you!
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