Dog News

Against all odds, a happy ending for a young pit bull

by ADMIN

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pit bull pupBeing born a pit bull is always going to be a strike against a dog, and so is being born deaf.  So, when a dog is born with both the odds for a long and happy life suddenly become more challenging.  Luckily for Ariela, the SPCA of New Jersey was able to save her and stuck with her until she found the perfect home and happy life that every dog deserves.

She was found on the back steps of the SPCA, abandoned in a cage in the spring of 2010. She was only 3 months old, with no training at all.  Fortunately though it seems like it might be difficult, dogs actually respond very well to sign language and Ariela was no exception.  A foster mom took her in and trained her in basic signs very quickly with the help of a website she found for The Deaf Dog Education Action Fund.

Being young and cute worked to her advantage and about 2 months later she was ready for adoption and a family was eager to take her home.  Sadly, it didn’t work out due to family circumstances changing and a year later she was returned to the shelter, now an adult dog, and most of her training forgotten.  A deaf, untrained, adult pit bull is not high on the list of “adoptable” dogs, but they were not prepared to give up on her yet.

Ariela went back to her original foster mom and though she re-learned her commands very quickly it was well over a year before a family was found for her.   However it seems it was worth the wait, as now Ariela has a loving forever home, and she gets to go to work every day and be a greeter in her owner’s formal wear store.  She even gets to push a line of tuxedos and wedding gowns for pooches!  So, thanks to the patience of the staff at the SPCA and her foster mom Ariela is living a life of happiness and contentment, against all odds.