Jenizall Whippets

If you think that you have what it takes to provide the best of homes to a whippet in need, please contact us here at Jenizall, or the Victorian Whippet Association on www.vicwhippet.com  

Millie has gone home with her lovely new family.  Having spent a delightful week with this gorgeous girl we are in no doubt that Millie will have a wonderful life with her new family, and Solo the whippet.

We would like to congratulate Millie's new family, and wish them many very happy years together

Thank you to everyone that offered Millie a new home

Before and After

What a difference a week makes.
  Millie is seen here shortly after being collected from Animal Welfare.
Five day's later, and wow, look at her now.

On the 11th Jan 2008 we recieved two phone calls informing us of a very special whippet in grave danger of being put to sleep at our local animal welfare centre.  She was only 16 months old.  Her name was Millie and she was completely deaf. 

Millie was bred by a puppy farmer with little concern about the health or future welfare of the puppies he sells.   She was sold through the Saturday morning paper, to the first person to arrive with the correct amount of money. 

At 12 months of age, Millie’s first owner decided that she was not interested in Millie any longer, and was going to have her put to sleep.  For the next four months Millie was cared for and loved by her foster mum.  Millie coped well with being deaf,  and her new foster mum taught her few basic hand signals, so Millie learnt soon learnt to mind her manners.  Millie also mixed well with her new foster family's three other dogs.  She is a sweet affectionate little girl, who just loves a cuddle.  Unfortunately Millie's new foster mum knew that she was not in a position to keep Millie on a long term basis. 

A gate was (accidently) left open, and Millie had escaped from her (foster family's) yard.  She was impounded by the local animal welfare centre.  Millie coped reasonably well with the ordeal, but had very quickly dropped a fair bit of weight and coat.  Millie just needed a little TLC to bring her coat and weight back into condition.  

Monday 14th Jan. 2008 - 11.34pm

Millie was transfered from the Animal Welfare Centre to the Vets this morning.  She was desexed and given a health check.  There were no concerns for her health other than her lack of condition.  She is very underweight, and her coat is coming out by the handful.  I am hoping to see a massive improvement within the next fornight. 

Millie won them over at the vets with her sweet nature.  We collected her around 4pm, taking along our two dogs Beau and Phoebe.  Introductions were made at the vets without any problems.  Millie travelled the 30min drive to her new foster home (at Jenizall) in  a crate in the back of the station wagon.  Something which she took in her stride.

Arriving at her new home Millie accepted her new surroundings with ease.  She had a bit of a wander around the yard.  Once inside the house it didn't take Millie long to find a comfortable bed to sleep on.  She appears to be very people orinated and has come looking for us on several occassions during the evening.  She definitly loves a cuddle.  Millie has settled well with our two dogs, Beau and Phoebe, but tomorrow will be the real test (when the anesthetic wears off)

Getting Millie to go outside to go to the toliet before going to bed was a learning curve, but we managed.  It is strange how much we are talking to her, when we know she can't hear us.  For the last half an hour, Millie has been settled for the night in a crate.  So far we haven't had a peep out of her, so hopefully she will sleep well tonight.

Just because a dog is deaf, it does not mean it is untrainable. You just need to be creative. Millie doesn't know she is deaf, she just think's she is a dog.  And a very loveable one at that!! 

The biggest differences we noticed in the behaviour between Millie and our two hearing dogs (Beau and Phoebe), was that, Millie seemed to need to keep a constant check on our whereabouts around the house.  While Beau and Phoebe would lie peacefully in their beds (waiting for something to happen),  Millie was happy to settle quietly, as long as she had you in her sight.  Millie was also far more affectionate than Beau and Phoebe, she adored sitting on your lap at night having a cuddle.  We believed her need for physical contact helped her overcome a bonding need that was lacking in her silent world.  Could this lead to separation anxiety issues?  While Millie did not appear to have any problems, this does not mean that other deaf dogs won't.  But it is important to remember that separation anxiety is a problem many hearing dogs struggle with as well.

We also noticed how quickly Millie was alerted to movement around the house.  She had a very strong sense to vibrations and changes in light and airflow.  

Taking on a deaf dog is not for the lazy owner, you can not simply tell them to "leave it" or "come away"  Sometimes you will just have to get up and go to her because she won't come to you.  But having spent a week with a deaf dog, would we do it for life?  Absolutley!!!

For anyone wanting to have a better understanding of how to deal with a deaf dog, we hope that the following links may be of some use.

Deaf Dog Education Action Fund                                                                                                                  

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/workingwithadeafdog.pdf                                                                  

http://www.aussierescue.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=BPI6AQck6JE%3D&tabid=114&mid=465                        

http://dog-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/deaf_dogs_make_great_pets                                                             

http://www.scamperingpaws.com/behavior/deafdog.shtml