To coincide with national deaf awareness week( 7th – 13th May) staff at Dogs Trust West Calder have launched an appeal to find a home for a very special four legged resident – Buddy a three year old crossbreed who is totally deaf. He was found wandering the streets as a stray and was taken to the rehoming centre where he is being taught sign language by his carers in an effort to help him find a suitable home. His trainers communicate with him non verbally and he is learning to sit, lie down and give a paw in response to hand signals. This is then rewarded with a tasty treat. Three years ago Dogs Trust West Calder rehomed a similar deaf dog, called Horus, who went on to find a loving home with his owner Rosie Gibbs and became a local celebrity after learning to respond to over 50 signs.
Julie Morrison, Training and Behaviour Adviser at Dogs Trust West Calder says, “Buddy is such an easy going, fun – loving boy; we know he will make a wonderful pet in the right home. He needs a patient, understanding owner who is willing to learn with him and enjoy teaching him new tricks and skills. It’s a bit of a misconception that deaf dogs are difficult to train, in reality the majority of training is done through hand signals regardless of whether a dog can hear or not. He would love to be able to communicate with his new family and the full support of the Dogs Trust training and behaviour advisers will also be given to his new family, to enable them to achieve this.
You can see Buddy being trained in this youtube clip.
Julie adds, “Ideally, Buddy would suit an active home with calm owners who have the patience to teach him and the energy to keep up with his lively, energetic character and take him on plenty of long walks. He is a stunning dog, he has one brown and one blue eye which adds to his appeal. He is a clever boy who is quick to learn and loves to please. With the right guidance he could soon pick up all sorts of commands but more importantly he would make an extremely loyal companion and we would love to see him find the happy home he deserves.â€
If you are looking for a Buddy or would like to rehome any other dogs, please contact Dogs Trust West Calder at Bentyhead, West Calder EH55 8LE or on 01506 873 459. For more information about the charity visit www.dogstrust.org.uk.