Diego

Pertinent Information
1 yr. old White Deaf Male
70 lb. with Natural Ears and Docked Tail
Good with Children and Other Dogs
Owner Surrender
Being Fostered Near Albany, NY
Adoption Donation $200

10/20/03 - We cannot believe it has been 5 months since Diego bounced in our lives. He never ceases to amaze us. He is doing so well with everyone and his
buddies, Sam and Delilah, as if he was born here. We recently had a round
of sniffles in our house, so everyone is on Benadryl for a bit. And stand
back when Diego sneezes, the cats head for the basement! For a deaf boy he
can sure make a lot of noise! When he wants to play tug of war with his
buddy Sammy (our border collie mix) he gets the rope out throws it on Sam's
front paws and barks a high pitched bark saying "come on play" that could
shatter windows !!! Thank goodness I got them replaced last year LOL! We sometimes do not even watch TV it is hysterical when all three get
together to play. But afterward it is great, everyone relaxes on the floor
except D. He finds a comfortable lap to crawl his 64 pound body onto, preferable the person in the rocking chair and falls asleep! He's a giant lap dog full of boxer kisses.
Thursday he went to the vet because of a concern of a growth on his side. It is very tiny, but we didn't want to take any chances. We have changed vets, because our original vet takes A LOT of vacation time. We chose a well-known and great veterinarian whose office is much closer, within our budget, and two with doctors on staff. Dr. Mark got tons of boxer kisses and told us what a handsome boy he was! He said he is in perfect shape and weight and has a loveable face. Next week he has to get some minor surgery to have this tiny bump removed and analyzed just in case. But the vet said he is not too concerned. Diego will be put under local, and I told him I would give him a copy of some of his signs so that they could communicate with our boy! The vet jokingly said, just give him a copy, he wanted to surprise assistants, when Diego comes in again the Doctor would use the hand signs to talk to him. And after chuckling over his amazed assistants faces (who D wouldn't listen to), say, "Oh did I forget to tell you he was deaf?".
We have to work on more signs with him and teach our other dogs to "tag" him when we need his attention, or want him to come with all of us. I am getting a tie together that someone suggested on the DEAF dog site and connect him to our other two dogs (one at a time of course) to have them both learn to show Diego the boundaries during his invisible fence training.
All in all we can't help but be so happy we were lucky enough to have been able to adopt this wonderful guy! We can't imagine our lives without his wiggly love! Thank you BAR and for everyone that made it possible for Diego and us!
P.S. This weekend Sue was in the kitchen making dinner with her stereo blasting and singing. All the dogs were outside except Diego. He was just laying there on the floor near the kitchen watching her, very content and I said, "Thank Goodness he's deaf and can't hear your singing", and she threw something at me, I can't remember what, but Diego got a treat! - Andy

8/4/03 - An update on Diego It's hard to believe its been 3 months since we adopted Diego. He may be a year and a couple of months old, but he is still very much a puppy. He always has lots of wiggles and Boxer kisses to give and is so happy to see us when we get home. His counter-surfing has improved somewhat. Now he'll only do it when your back is turned or are distracted. Once he gets his face into a bowl of cat food, it takes all your strength to pull him away from it (he would risk life and limb for even the tiniest morsel)!!! Diego has just graduated from an obedience class called 'Family took his class at Canine Connection in Milford, CT. His trainer, Jennifer, was excellent with him (He was one of her first deaf dogs). It was amazing to see the progress all the dogs in Jennifer's class made!! Diego never ceases to amaze us! We have a bird feeder hanging from the clothes line in the back yard and Diego runs around chasing, not the birds, but the bird shadows that race across the grass!! He can dig a hole big enough for him to lay down in, in less than a minute. Diego and our Border Collie mix, Delilah, are absolutely smitten by each other and play together for hours every day. We love him dearly and are very glad he became a part of our lives! Thank you Boxer Angels Rescue!!!! Andy & Sue

5/15/03 - We got Diego home two weeks ago and he has been keeping us very busy with playing and getting to know each other. He is GREAT! We love him very much and his two new best buds, Samson and Delilah, both border collie mixes love him too.
He is fitting in just well. We discovered I adopted more than a boxer but a
hoover in one! He keeps our floors clean! He loves hiking with everyone and meeting new friends.
I have attempted to send emails out and attach pictures, but we had trouble
with downloading them. I will try again through another server, because there is a picture of him saying bye to his foster family that is so cute.
Andy, Sue, Samson, Delilah & Diego

4/28/03-When I was walking the dogs last night (what a great time to think!) I remembered 3 things that I'd wanted to mention in Diegos' update! First off, he came to us using a prong collar but I decided to try a choker and he did just as well with that - after a couple of corrections to remind him not to pull he walked along just like a pro! Also - our Diego is a counter/table/anywhere you leave food unguarded surfer extraordinary! We're working on this with him but BOY is he bold! Cookies off the dining room table or his head in the garbage, his forever family definitely needs to be aware of this. The third thing is - if you have any worries about adopting a deaf dog check out www.deafdogs.org it's a fantastic site with lots of information on almost anything you could be worried about with a deafie. There's also a great group on yahoo (deafdogs@yahoogroups.com) with a ton of members with deaf dogs that compete in obedience, agility, flyball, herding or just spend all day laying around on the couches. Both of them are great sources of information!

4/27/03-Diego is still doing very, very well - I just can't say enough about how wonderful this boy is. We have had a couple of accidents in the house but I really do believe they are stress related because 99.9% of the time he asks to go out and does all his business there. Diego has gone with Satchel & I on our evening walks and does very well on the leash with me - he was very excited to see some deer on the road but just hopped up and down, no lunging or dragging at all. He does do some barking when we put him in the crate to leave the house but settles down quickly and naps the time away. We have not left him for more than a couple of hours yet so I do not know how he'd do if left alone all day, I suspect he'd be ok. He really has turned into a velcro dog, and follows me from room to room. If I sit down anywhere he will frequently sleep on my feet so that he doesn't miss it if I get up to leave (remember he is deaf). We are working with him on staying off the furniture, he'd really like to be sleeping on the couch or one of the chairs but since they're new only humans are allowed. He'd love to be a lap dog if you're looking for one though! Diego and Satchel could just play for hours and they do a great job tiring each other out - so don't hesitate with this boy if you have another dog. He's even enticed our Boston Terrier into playing with him, so he'd be fine with small dogs, too. He tries to play with cats and has touched noses with the one he met so I'm sure that he'd be ok in a home with cats as well. He's just the perfect all around lover!

4/21/03 - Diego is settling in here like he owns the place - he is just the best boy! He is a big love. We've only had one small altercation with the other dogs, Satchel decided he'd really like to have Diego's dinner and they had a spat but Diego was more than willing to hand his food over - he wanted nothing to do with arguing. All he wants to do is play all the time with anyone willing! He even tried to play with the cats he's met - play bowing to them and yipping. He has been very gentle with my children - he's careful not to knock into them (unless he's wrestling with Satchel and then it's every man for himself! :-)) He is a STRONG boy though - he'll let my 3 year old walk him on a leash in the house but I wouldn't let anyone but an adult walk him outside, even with his prong collar on, he doesn't mean to pull but if he gets distracted by something, lookout. He responds very well to his hand signals for sit and down - we're working on stay and come, they're a little weak. He's already learned 3 ways to say 'good boy' though! And he'll do almost anything for a treat! Whoever adopts this boy should definitely plan on obedience - he's very willing to please but will need some more direction to make him a fine upstanding citizen. Hopefully I'll be able to get pictures of this handsome boy in the next day or two - those big, droopy brown eyes & he's got the sweetest worry wrinkles on the top of his head all the time - and he is SO soft! I don't know if it's a white boxer thing but they definitely seem to be softer than the colored boxers. Or maybe I'm just biased? Diego will be going to see the vet to have all his shots updated on Monday and then he'll be ready for his new home - you don't know what you're missing if you pass this lover boy up!

4/19/03 - Diego is here! He arrived last night and rode pretty well in the car for us considering what a long day he had. 'D' is a 1 year old, deaf, white boxer and a SWEETIE! He has loved everyone he's met so far - dogs, kids, adults - everyone. He also responds to some hand signals. He really is just a big ol' puppy! Oh. And he LOVES the mud. . . he found the wet spot in our yard and made himself a nice little wallow - so we'll see how he likes baths just a little later this afternoon.