In October 2008, I received a call about a deaf pit bull puppy at a local shelter needing a foster home. I enjoy working with deaf dogs, and I love the pit bull breed, so I couldn't wait to bring her home. My husband Dave was not so happy. He thought we had enough foster dogs at the moment, and he was afraid a deaf dog would be too hard to place. Turns out he was right about her being hard to place, but it wasn't because Noelle was deaf. It's because she was a pit bull, and had mange, and was very difficult to house-train, and worst of all she was very dog aggressive, at least upon the initial greeting with another dog. At adoption events she was overlooked each time because all she would do was sleep or bark at other dogs. We received a few inquiries about her from her posting on the Internet, but everyone had other pets and Noelle never worked out. So we kept fostering her, month after month. And it didn't take long for Dave or I to fall in love, to the point that we didn't want to let her go. So in July 2009, after fostering Noelle for nine months, we adopted her ourselves.
Noelle made it through a
basic obedience program - barely. She learned to sit and stay and walk well on a leash and come when called and a few other commands. She eventually was even housebroken. Although there are still days where she just can't be bothered to put up with the snow or freezing cold and will try to sneak away inside somewhere to go. She didn't learn to greet other dogs nicely, although she can get along with them eventually. It makes fostering more difficult, but Noelle is worth it. She loves whole-heartedly. She wants to be with her people every minute, and she loves to cuddle. She can be naughty at times - she's the first Honorary Dog Member of the
Naughty Kitty Club - but more than anything she just wants to please her people. If she can get away with some
naughtiness at the same time, she's happy with that.
In October 2008, I received a call about a deaf pit bull puppy at a local shelter needing a foster home. I enjoy working with deaf dogs, and I love the pit bull breed, so I couldn't wait to bring her home. My husband Dave was not so happy. He thought we had enough foster dogs at the moment, and he was afraid a deaf dog would be too hard to place. Turns out he was right about her being hard to place, but it wasn't because Noelle was deaf. It's because she was a pit bull, and had mange, and was very difficult to house-train, and worst of all she was very dog aggressive, at least upon the initial greeting with another dog. At adoption events she was overlooked each time because all she would do was sleep or bark at other dogs. We received a few inquiries about her from her posting on the Internet, but everyone had other pets and Noelle never worked out. So we kept fostering her, month after month. And it didn't take long for Dave or I to fall in love, to the point that we didn't want to let her go. So in July 2009, after fostering Noelle for nine months, we adopted her ourselves. 
Noelle made it through a basic obedience program - barely. She learned to sit and stay and walk well on a leash and come when called and a few other commands. She eventually was even housebroken. Although there are still days where she just can't be bothered to put up with the snow or freezing cold and will try to sneak away inside somewhere to go. She didn't learn to greet other dogs nicely, although she can get along with them eventually. It makes fostering more difficult, but Noelle is worth it. She loves whole-heartedly. She wants to be with her people every minute, and she loves to cuddle. She can be naughty at times - she's the first Honorary Dog Member of the Naughty Kitty Club - but more than anything she just wants to please her people. If she can get away with some naughtiness at the same time, she's happy with that. 
