I don't know about deaf dogs, but with having a blind dog,
I've come to notice that a lot of people have a misconception
that they're a lot of work and take an exorbitant amount of
time and patience. I've had people tell me that they thought
Maddie must be a real burden to me and they don't think
they could handle it. Well Maddie has never once been a
burden. She's not any harder to take care of than Oz or
Murph. I think the key is I don't treat her like a special needs
case, so she's a very happy and confident lil' girl.

Dogs adjust so much easier than we do. She hasn't let being
blind prevent her from toodling all around the back yard and
house or playing with her toys or keeping Murph and Oz in
line. And she always knows just where my nose is to give me
a kiss. If I take her hiking, I have to put her in my backpack,
but I had to do that before she was blind. She's always been
somewhat of a spud, so I think in her case being blind was
less of a hindrance than going deaf. I've always been very
verbal with her, so we haven't lost our communication. And
lord knows she hasn't lost her sense of smell to track down
any wayward crumbs on the floor.

Par...