Aurora's story

"Aurora's story: Back in December 2004 Bardstown Animal Control picked up a 3 month old female Border Collie she was about 15lbs, loved people: ok with other dogs. She was very ataxic and week with a very poor body condition. She was thought to have some sort of coordination problem. The Veterinarian wasn't sure what it was, thought it might be congenital: also a possible old injury since she was so afraid of cars. It was recommended she be put down. The vet techs pleaded to save her and contacted Great Lake Border Collie rescue to help. She was approved by rescue to be taken in and a foster home was found for her. She then Traveled from KY to IN. She spent time in IN with a foster home that evaluated her and the decision was made to have some tests done at the University of Wisconsin. So she traveled from IN to overnight with us in IL. The next morning one of our volunteers pick her up from me and she traveled to WI. At this point it was not known what was wrong with her. She had a wobble with her head, it was assumed to be Neurological. We were also told that she most likely would not live past 1 year of age. In January of 2005 she was taken to Madison, WI for testing. It was determined she was bilaterally deaf and has bilateral peripheral vestibular disease, most likely a congenital malformation. It was determined this would not have a significant impact on her quality of life. She will always be deaf, and have some signs of abnormal head movements. She would lead a happy, relatively normal life with proper tanning and precautions. So, she was put up for adoption. My husband and I fell in love when she overnighted with us and we stepped up to foster her. As you might guess we could not let her go. A great prospective home came along and we had to decide could we let her go? The answer was no, she was home here with us and her 3 other border collie brothers and sisters. Did we know anything about living with a deaf dog? NO. So I began reading and researching all the information I could find. We entered her in obedience classes, unless you knew she was deaf you would have never known. I can attest to the great joy this little girl brings us each day. I am so thankful to everyone the helped to save her. Is she handicapped? Do not tell her, because she shure doesn't know it. She will turn 2 years old on the 10th of August. Thank you, Laura Crawford Photo submitted by threedogcollectables@insightbb.com Laura Crawford "