I've had dogs most all of my life. Many have left a mark on my heart and all of them have taught me something either about myself or others. I've had dogs warn me about dating the wrong boy. They have shown me unconditional love when I didn't deserve it and all of them have made me laugh and provided endless hours of entertainment. I've always known dogs were smarter than we give them credit for and feel emotions deeper than we could ever realize. But nothing could prepare me for the personality, intelligence and communication skills of a deaf dog named Conway.
I had just lost my pet of seven years- "Little Joe" to a terrible incident. I swore I couldn't bear having another pet for a very long time. But the house was so quiet... an eerie quiet that I just couldn't handle. So after about a month I told my husband I wanted to get another dog. But I didn't want just any dog. I wanted to do some searching and find a dog that NEEDED ME as much as I needed him. I began searching thru recommended rescue organizations and found a picture of this sweet, blue eyed, five month old dog who had been dumped at a vet clinic for euthanization because he was deaf. I fell in love with him the moment I saw his picture. I had to save him. I know part of it was that I felt like a failure because I failed to save Little Joe. I let Little Joe down and now I had to vindicate myself by saving this poor little pup and give him a safe, nurturing, loving home. We applied with the rescue organization and after some begging and pleading they agreed to let us adopt the dog they called Bois D'arc... and we renamed Conway.
The first few weeks were hard. Very hard. I am not going to lie. I am not going to say we had second thoughts because we did not. But we knew that all of our knowledge and history with training pets was not going to work with this dog. It was very frustrating at times. In the first week Conway had picked up on my routine and when I deviated from it even slightly he went into a tizzy... barking relentlessly. I usually had my lunch in the kitchen so when dinner time came and my husband and I would want to sit in the living room and enjoy our meal while watching tv Conway would bark this high pitched, ear piercing scream like bark and I had no idea how to get him to stop it. I just kept pointing my finger at him with a stern look on my face. After about two- three weeks he figured it out. He realized that not every meal would be in the kitchen and I guess he came to terms with it. I had begun to earn his trust and I started attempting to teach him sign language. Some things worked- some did not. But I kept fine tuning my signs until I found something he responded to. To this day, when he wants something he hits my hand with his nose until I start giving signs. When I get to the one that he is requesting (potty trip, treat, bed time etc) he acknowledges the correct sign with excitement. It only took me three years to finally figure out... he was training me. Yep- he taught me how to read his requests, how to follow his rules, how to keep him safe, when to feed him, when to give him snacks. Heck, he even tells me when he is ready for a bath. How arrogant of me to believe I am the alpha dog in this herd or that I am somehow smarter than him. (We have two other dogs as well and they are more than deserving of their own blog post!)
Conway just recently turned four years old. I think back to the day Little Joe passed away and where I was in life at that moment and how broken I was. It dawns on me that I am a different person today. I am changed. I have more patience. I am more caring. I show more compassion and consideration for others and I try to find ways to communicate with those who may not understand me. I am and do all of these things because of a husband who loves me unconditionally and a sweet little deaf dog who is constantly teaching me how to be a better person. A dog who took me and all the pieces of my heart and loved me with all of my faults and shortcomings. He was placed in my life NOT because he needed saving... but because I did.
