Being deaf isn’t a roadblock to happiness, and September 20 through September 26 marks “Deaf Dog Awareness Week.” Dogs can be deaf for a variety of reasons including illness, age, or having been bred by substandard breeders ignorant (or uncaring) about lethal genes. We’re not celebrating deaf purebred dogs, we’re using the occasion to mention that deaf dogs can make wonderful companions in the right family, and to underscore the importance of working with an ethical breeder invested in their breed to the extent that they’re aware of lethal genes. To learn more about double merles: http://www.doublemerles.info/.
If you have a deaf purebred dog, we invite you to send us their photo mentioning their breed, who gets photo credit, and, if you’re ok with it, the reason for their deafness. You can send it via private message here, or to nationalpurebreddogday@nat
Image of “Keller,” an Australian Shepherd who was born totally deaf (and vision impaired) due to merle x merle breeding. She helps educate about this breeding “no no” on the Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/Kellerthedm/. Photo by Amanda Fuller