Shorty's Happy Ending...

About 2 months ago, Shorty, a beautiful deaf pitbull was placed into foster care with one of our amazing volunteers, Elizabeth.  We all loved Shorty so much and just knew we had to find him the home he deserved.  And Elizabeth did!  Shorty was adopted by Elizabeth's friend, and now lives in a happy home with 5 kids, 2 adults and 2 other dogs.  Man, did he luck out!

Here's what Michael, Shorty's new Dad had to say:

Many people who do not spend the time researching dogs and their characteristics, being deaf and a Pitbull would give two strikes against Shorty. However, pitbulls and deaf dogs are extremely misunderstood. Shorty is a gentle, loving and affectionate dog who wouldn’t hurt a fly. He has transitioned beautifully into our home of 5 children and two other dogs. He is easily trainable with hand signals and signs, and continues to make daily progress learning the rules of our home. He fills our hearts with love, laughter and joy. Welcome to your forever home Shorty!

We are so very happy for Shorty and his new family!  Take a look at him in his new home.

What a beautiful family!  Nothing makes us happier than seeing one of beloved dogs in a great home!  Shorty is an amazing dog, sweet and gentle, and there are so many more like him at the Islip Animal Shelter.  Come down and give one of them their happy ending.

Shorty...

I am so happy for one of my favorite boys at the shelter, Shorty.  Shorty left the shelter on Saturday to stay with one of our volunteers, Elizabeth.  He is the latest dog to join the ranks of Shelter Link's foster dogs.  Elizabeth loves Shorty as much as I do, and decided she had to foster him.  It was a nerve wracking morning waiting to see how Shorty would get along with Elizabeth's two dogs, but in true Shorty fashion, mellow, calm,  and happy-go-lucky, the dogs did great together.  I watched Shorty happily get into Jack's truck to go off and get groomed before arriving at his new home.  It was a very sweet moment to witness.  He looked very curious as he sat and waited for Jack.  Take a look at my boy now that he is all cleaned up!

I have never seen his coat so white!  I can only imagine how good it must have felt to get all cleaned up. He looks amazing!  Shorty is super special to me.  I have been taking him out at the shelter since August when I started volunteering.  Not only is he the most gentle, happy soul, he also just happens to be deaf.  You would think that being deaf would make this boy nervous, but it has quite the opposite effect for him.  He is so calm and well balanced.  He's just a big mush, happy to give you a kiss or play with a toy.  And that one ear up, matches his silly personality.

Shorty is doing awesome at Elizabeth's house.  He is throughly enjoying sleeping in a warm dog bed, and playing with his toys.  He loves going for walks too with his new best bud.

Shorty will be meeting my two dogs this weekend to see how they get along.  I am crossing my fingers! We'll be watching Shorty in a few weeks for Elizabeth, and it will be a trial of some sorts to see how he does here.  If all goes well, we may be adding this gentle giant to our pack.  I can't wait to see him this Sunday outside of the shelter enjoying life!

For those of you deterred from adopting a deaf dog, think twice about it.  Sometimes not being able to hear is a beautiful thing for a dog.  No loud stimuli to make them nervous or crazy.  I have found that a large part of what makes Shorty such an amazing mellow guy, is his lack of hearing.  And training is easier than you think, Shorty knows a lot of basic commands with the use of hand signals.  I'll keep you updated on Shorty's progress.

Thanks for reading!