Sunny Boy ~ Adopted

12/19/15 Update: Sunny is home with Dee Krebs in Chicago.

Dee writes: To Dana Campo. I’ve been thinking about this post for the last couple of weeks and every time I do, it brings tears to my eyes. They are tears of sorrow, but also tears of joy. When Dana passed, down in Florida, her friends’ first concern was for her deaf and blind Double Merle Australian Shepherd, Sunny Boy. I immediately offered to take him and the Deaf Dog community rallied to work on transport. However, Gisele, with The Dog Liberator took him back into their rescue where he originally came from. She had a family waiting for him. With a heavy heart, I asked that he be safe, well and happy. I prayed for Sunny and asked God to place him where he would be loved and cherished for the rest of his life. The adoptive home that was waiting for him fell through. Bless Gisele because she actually considered me. We talked for weeks. Then we went back to our Australian Shepherd friends and it took a while, but a transport was set up. So yesterday, my prayers were answered. With Sunny’s Angel watching over him, a number of fabulous people stepped in and transported him north. My deepest thanks to every single one of you!!! We didn’t make it home until 5:00 this morning, but Sunny Boy is now with me outside of Chicago. We are slowly letting him meet the rest of the pack, but things are going well. Many thanks to Gisele, Eric, Ronna, Isa, Mark and anyone else I may have missed. I truly believe that this is what Dana would have wanted and praise be to God for answering my prayers!! I promised a photo of the 2 of us and I will work on that soon. But in the mean time, Sunny Boy would like to say “Good Morning!” from chilly Chicago. – Dee Krebs

10/25/15 Update: It is with a sad heart that we have to share that Sunny has come back to us after the tragic loss of his sweet mommy Dana… She passed suddenly and we are heartbroken for she an Sunny.

We need to take the time to thank a few people who were kind enough to help us bring Sunny back to TDL. A special thanks to  Lora Wiggington and John and Jocelyn Peddler for all you’ve done for Sunny and for us. Sunny is in foster as we determine our next steps.

2/1/15 Update: We are happy to announce that Sunny has found his new home with Dana of south Florida! Congratulations to Sunny and Dana as they begin their new adventure together!

We even received an update already! Dana reports that Sunny is already mapping the house well. She writes “I watched him map out the layout. ….I was mesmerized. He would bump into things then turn around and start all over again until he could actually run through without bumping into anything and that was when he settled down.” And if your know the running joke in TDL about being “couch trained” or “bed trained” this part of the update will make you smile “Yes, Gisele. ….he slept in my bed with me and upon getting up this morning we went for a walk and he pooped and pee. I was such a proud mama 😉 ” Dana also reports that Sunny’s new kitty siblings are adjusting to this new member of the family, and are understandably perplexed by him.

We value transparency in rescue, which is why we loved this update so much we just had to share it. Dana writes “I was skeptical about this venture at first but now that he is home with me I feel completely different and love him totally and unconditionally. I feel so blessed, I don’t know what other words to use to describe how incredibly grateful I am.” We are so happy for Dana and so glad this match has worked out well!

12/14/14 Update: Sunny is coming back to us due to no fault of his own. Sadly his adoptive Mommy has sustained an injury which has had her in and out of the hospital and makes caring for him very difficult. It is breaking her heart, but she recognizes that it is best for them both if we find him another awesome home.

Sunny is good with small children, puppies, older dogs (pretty much dogs of all ages), and is great with meeting new people. He is deaf/blind, not demanding, and loves his crate. He would thrive with a buddy-dog who he can follow and play with!

If you are interested in Sunny, please read about our Adoption Process and then shoot us an email!

Check out his Photos on Facebook!

05/26/14 Update: Sunny was adopted yesterday by Elizabeth Spicer of the Jacksonville area. I got up this morning and put plants and furniture back – I had moved things to help Sunny not boink or trip on them. I was kind of sad, I guess I had grown accustomed to the goof ball! He brought me a lot of joy. But I also thought I would foster him for much longer. As it appears, I became aware of Sunny through Dale Parent, on April 4th, and he came to our rescue on April 11th, and he came to my home on the 14th.  Which means we only fostered him for six weeks.

Several days ago, I received an inquiry from Elizabeth, who had been interested in adopting some of our other deaf/blind dogs.  Every time she inquired, the dog had already been adopted.  Four years ago, Elizabeth rescued a ten year-old dog from the pound who was deaf/blind, and she shared that it was the best dog she ever had.

When Elizabeth mentioned that she had a 6 month-old female Lab at home… I was hooked!  Sunny still misses Phoebe!

Sunny’s meet went perfectly, he is always friendly.  She signed the adoption contract, with the caveat that Sunny would come back to me is there is any problems (but that’s standard with our contracts).  I lifted Sunny into the crate in the back of their vehicle, and he was content.

They stopped along the way home for a potty break, but amazing as it sounds, when they returned to their car, and opened the back… Sunny literally jumped right in his crate.  Huh?

Once they got home, Elizabeth wrote:  “Trip was good… we got home, allowed him to sniff around and then introduced the other dogs.  Needless to say, Sunny and Lola, our lab puppy, have been playing non-stop!  They are the same size and just rolled around and wrestled together.  I had to break them up so we could eat dinner!  LOL!  I will call you later tonight.”

Elizabeth did call me later last night.  As she explained, because she has two tiny humans (two gorgeous little blonde boys) their house is baby-proofed.  No coffee tables with sharp edges, etc.  They invited Sunny inside their living room, and Sunny used the couch as home base…. after playing with Lola, he went to the door and asked to go potty.  How could it be that he knows where the door is so quickly?  He just does!  Three times Sunny asked for the door, went outside, and wee weed!

Elizabeth has promised to continue to send us updates.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I just can’t express how wonderful these dogs really are, and I can’t express enough how quickly shelters and pounds put them down, as they are labeled un-adoptable.  I disagree.

So now I am about to press the “Update” button, and it’s okay for me to cry!  Special thanks to Jenny Elliot who helped me brain storm and find my confidence!!

Click here to See all of his photos on Facebook!

04/23/14 Update: Because of my experience with Ralph, I saw this coming. I brought Sunny (deaf/blind) home last night and gave him a little bit of time in the yard with the kids. He did great, but bumped into everything. This morning… I watched him map our yard… mowing the lawn with his nose! First, he created a triangle, and within 45 minutes he had my yard mapped out 90%. Amazing! And yes, I took video! Will be publishing shortly!

04/29/14 Update:  Sunny has the entire yard mapped out!  He loves meeting new people, adores being with other dogs, and loves the Friends Puppies!  He’s a very happy boy, full of joy and proud of every new accomplishment!  He has a lot of determination, and is very impatient to learn new things!  In short, he doesn’t give up until he gets it down pat!

05/22/14 Update:

I shared this video of Sunny and Phoebe playing Hide and Seek!

I shared this video with Sunny and Ozzie last week.  Hilarious!

Lately, Sunny wants more to do, so now he is practicing jumping over things.  I guess he wants to be an agility dog now!  I’ve posted many new photos of him on Facebook!

The morning of May 24th, I shared this video that I took very early on a Saturday morning!  The pings you hear is my phone notifying me of text messages!  My day starts early!  This video is hilarious, click here!

Sunny has been awesome when meeting strangers, he’s very friendly! He’s great with puppies, young children and older dogs. His joy is to run and explore. He has my yard completely mapped! He enjoys sleeping in his crate, he is quiet, and sleeps through the night. Sunny is really one of the easiest dogs I’ve fostered. He is not demanding, however, he does want his independence! There are a ton of advantages to owning a deaf/blind dog, they won’t run away, chase squirrels or cats, and they are not afraid of thunder! Sunny is easy peasy! We just uploaded more great photos of him, thanks to photographer, Dianna Noreen!

History:  Great News! Sunny is being transported from Virginia to Florida thanks to volunteer, Chuck! We can’t wait to meet him!

This handsome young man is about 9 months and 40lbs.  Our dream come true would be to find a special adopter around Virginia! He is looking for a forever home and is currently in Virgina near Charlottesville.  Sunny is both Deaf and Blind.  Rest assured, if you are considering adopting him, The Dog Liberator will provide you and your family with consulting, and we will help you with any questions you have regarding owning a deaf and blind dog!  Our Ralph was successfully adopted not long ago, and he is a wonderful and intelligent dog, fully trained, and loves his family, including his children!  Deaf/Blind dogs in many ways, are very easy to train.

You can see more photo of him in his photo album on Facebook.

If Sunny does not find a home in Virginia we are asking for a virtual sponsor to help us rescue him. He also needs transport.

Transport would run from Virginia to Florida so if you or someone you know might be heading down the coast please let us know and feel free to email sarahwhite.thedogliberator@gmail.com