Special Needs Puppies
(ok, aside from that being a reasonable band name, I actually had something in mind)

Many of you have met our Blind Cave Dog also known as Frost.

If you haven't, you should drop by and check him out sometime, he has the sweetest disposition in the world. He moves around with such confidence, it's very easy to forget that he is deaf and blind. He's a smooth collie (like Lassie with a buzz-cut) with a double copy of the merle gene, that's the factor that makes some of our dogs have the nifty looking blue coat. The gene is dominant. A single copy of the gene results in dogs that looks like Pow or Brick, solid color with patches of blue. With a double copy most of the pigment goes away leaving a white, or mostly white coat. Unfortunately, that same pigment is involved in the development of eyes and ears. As a result most double-merles have problems with hearing, vision or both.

The reason I'm going through all this is I've been told that Collie Rescue of the Carolinas has two double-merles coming up for adoption this week. One of them is deaf, the other is blind. I'm told these dogs have equally sweet dispositions compared to our guy. Admittedly, this is not the kinda dog that everyone can handle. Big and blind means a lot of bumping into things. Not the sort of dog you want if you have lots of cases full of Hummel figurines*. But if this is the sorta thing that does appeal to you or you know someone, you should give Collie Rescue a call. I can't speak for golemkennels directly, but I'm pretty sure she'd be happy to assist in training, having worked with a few dogs with sensory problems.


* Ok, if I had a bunch of Hummels, this is EXACTLY the kind of dog I'd want.