Life at the Rancho was settling in to the echoing silence of missing the Desert Dogs, and the galloping joy of Sasha and Margeaux learning to play together. Shasta was revealing more of herself each day, a happy whirlwind delighting in everything going on around her. After a couple of weeks I started feeling like there was another canine being out there calling to me. Sasha's non-stop energy was not always appreciated by middle-aged Margeaux, perhaps another dog more in Sasha's size and activity level would be good for everyone. I started to occasionally scan the local high-kill animal shelter's websites to see who might be calling me. Eventually one did. San Bernardino City shelter had an injured blue and tan Heeler on stray hold. She had six stitches in her right hind leg, and wounds on her neck and ears, most likely caused by a dog fight. The morning she came off stray hold I went to meet her. When I checked in at the front desk, gave them her number and asked to see her, the woman behind the counter said, "Oh, she's nice. I just named her this morning". (Shelters often name dogs that are available for adoption if their name is unknown, it makes them more personable and therefore adoptable). I asked, "Cool, what did you name her"? Her answer echoed through my energetic body as she replied, "Lillie".

It became obvious who arranged this match, as "Lillie 2.0" had many of the attributes of "Lillie 1.0". We tried to find a unique name for her, or one she may have known from the past. She did not respond to any of our suggestions. I kept trying to communicate with her about it, the only answer I ever got back was "Dog". We finally decided she looked like a "Hazel", so that's what we began calling her. Somewhat guarded, serious, but glad to receive affection, she made an effort to fit in, but had some pretty rough edges. We cut her a lot of slack since she was recovering from spaying surgery and having her leg stitched up, and had a bad case of kennel cough. She was a little grumpy with the other dogs, and we supervised their interactions carefully to avoid anyone getting hurt. We figured she was extra defensive from not feeling well, she would rush at the other dogs and ram them with her snout if they got too close. Sasha did not know how to handle rejection, she thought everyone in the entire universe loved her and wanted to play with her. She would slink away when Hazel looked at her, and Margeaux gave her a wide berth as well.

We noticed that Hazel slept REALLY soundly. She was healing from physical and emotional trauma, so we figured she was exhausted. We laughed about her being an excellent watchdog, vigilant and protective - when she was awake. The burglars could carry out the contents of our house, stepping over her repeatedly, and she would sleep on undisturbed. As we moved into the second week of having her with us, it finally dawned on me. I stood behind her as she slept, and held a training clicker a few inches behind her ear. I clicked. It made its loud, sharp sound. Her ear never flicked and she slept on peacefully. I tried several different loud sounds at different times. It became obvious. Hazel is deaf.

In reading up on deafness in dogs, I learned the Australian Cattle Dogs/Heelers speckled coat patterns can be connected to congenital deafness. Hazel does not have blue eyes (her eyes are - hazel), which is often associated with hearing loss, but she does lack a solid colored face mask. ACD's without a face mask are slightly more prone to deafness than dogs with a mask. Deafness in one ear is more common (11%) than in both ears (3%).

Dalmatians have the highest rates of congenital deafness in dogs. Catahoulas, Bull Terriers, Boston Terriers, English Cockers and Parson Russell Terriers and their mixes are also affected breeds, and any dog of any breed or mixture of breeds can be affected by hearing loss as they age.

So now that we know to get Hazel's attention through sight and/or touch, we are beginning to learn about using signs in her training. There is a lot of information on living with and training deaf dogs out there on the interwebs. Deafdogsrock.com is a fabulous place to start! I have a new thing to research, oh happy neurodivergent joy! She and the other dogs are relaxing around each other, and Sasha has a buddy to run, tumble and play keep-away with. The equilibrium is being restored at Rancho Zen Rodeo and my animal communicating skills are expanding in new ways. Hazel is grateful for Reiki healing energy as are all the critters here. Communicating with her feels different, less directly "wordy", more feeling and imagery, and somehow more spacious. I'm glad she has come to teach me in ways I had not imagined.