To all of us who share our lives with deaf dogs, it's common knowledge that deaf dogs can make wonderful family pets, that they are highly trainable, smart, loving, playful and in most ways just like any other dog.

However, most people who meet my deaf dog Sadie (she is the happy smiley black dog in the photo) feel one of two things when they find out that she is deaf:

1-they either wonder why on earth I would want a deaf dog (as if to say she's "broken" in some way), or

2- they feel sorry for her (truthfully, they feel sorry for this smiley, happy, tail-wagging dog!).

One of my reasons for starting the deaf dog photo book was to educate people. I wanted to make sure that the next time these people encountered a deaf dog that they didn't have either of those typical reactions.

To me, having a deaf dog, in many ways, is just like having a hearing dog.
There are a few differences, of course, especially with training, but most of the time I actually never think about her being deaf.

Deaf dogs are definitely not "broken" - in fact, I think she's perfect as she is. She's also smarter than most hearing dogs I know. (She learned the "sit" command in less than a minute.) Hand signals are just the way I speak to her. (I also talk to her ALL the time - I can't help it!) I do keep her on leash outside for the most part when we are in an area that is not fenced in, although I know many deaf dogs with great recall even without vibrating collars. Sadie, however, likes to chase things (like deer and cars) and this can be dangerous because I can't call her back if she's not looking at me. 

AND, don't feel sorry for deaf dogs.  Sadie doesn't know she's deaf, and if she does, she doesn't let it hold her back. (I always say we can learn a lot from deaf dogs.) To say she has a great life is a HUGE understatement. She's one of the happiest dogs I know (except for right now because she's lying on the couch next to me and I keep reaching over to pet her, which keeps waking her up - she's so annoyed. If she doesn't get her 22 hours of beauty sleep a day, she's just a wreck). (I promise to write more about Sadie here at some point.)

If I were actively searching for another dog, I would look for another deafie. In fact, most people whose deaf dogs are in the deaf dog photo book have told me the same thing.

One of my main reasons for wanting to rescue another deaf dog is because thousands of deaf dogs are put to sleep every year, simply because they are deaf (which brings me to my next reason for starting the deaf dog photo book): I want the practice of culling deaf dogs to stop.

It's my hope that once people see these gorgeous dogs (I wasn't kidding when I said I thought they were perfect - Sadie's one of the reasons I got into dog photography in the first place - I couldn't stop taking pictures of her!), they will be as outraged as I was to learn that thousands of deaf puppies are put down each year and that the Dalmatian Club of America actually goes after their breeders who DO NOT cull their deaf dogs!

HERE ARE MY 8 BEAUTIFUL REASONS (just a few of the stars of the Deaf Dogs photo book) WHY THE PRACTICE OF CULLING DEAF DOGS HAS TO STOP

1- Johnnie - Deaf "Lethal White" Australian Shepherd

2- Radcliff - Deaf Border Collie

3- Thor, deaf Chihuahua

4- Snow, deaf American Bulldog

5- Aspen, deaf white Boxer

6- Milo, deaf American Bulldog

7- Poppyseed, deaf Dalmatian

8- Sadie, deaf Border Collie-Lab mix

All of the dogs featured in this post will be appearing in the Deaf Dogs photo book, which will be out in the spring of 2010. A large percentage of each sale goes to benefit animal rescue groups around the U.S. However, the book is now available online for pre-order. By pre-ordering, you are helping to front the high cost of printing this book and helping to make this project happen. Pre-order a book and help me reach my goal of raising $300,000 for animal rescue.

Click here to pre-order.

All photographs in this post are copyright 2009 Melissa McDaniel Photography and absolutely no reproduction of any kind is permitted.