This sweet mama is Diamond! Diamond - Oregon Humane Society. Diamond and her puppies recently relocated to Oregon Humane from rural Paul’s Valley, OK and she’s looking to find her forever home here in the Pacific Northwest. Diamond has already raised her pups and has sent them off to their forever homes, and now she’s looking for a home for herself! Diamond is a 2-year-old, 49-pound American Pit Bull. Diamond was one of the lucky dogs who caught a plane ride with Fetch Fido a Flight ( Home (fetchfidoaflight.com) ), an Oklahoma-based rescue whose primary goal is to get dogs out of high kill Oklahoma shelters and into shelters where they’re certain to find a new home. Because Diamond and her pups got on that flight, their lives were saved and they look forward to having long, happy lives with their new families.
Diamond came to us with long-term severe ear infections. Because of the severe infection, her ear canals were essentially closed with overactive tissue. Because of this, she underwent a bilateral total ear canal ablation (TECA) at the Oregon Humane Society Veterinary Hospital. This means that her ear canals in both of her ears were surgically removed and surgically closed. She no longer has openings into her ears and is completely deaf. Because of her deafness, Diamond is not for a first-time dog owner. For her, we’re looking with someone with previous dog experience, and an adopter with experience with deaf dogs would be a bonus. Here’s a little information about living with a deaf dog. 6.30.17_Living_with_a_Deaf_Dog.pdf (oregonhumane.org). Because of her deafness, she will also need a home with a fully fenced yard (since she can’t hear the ‘come’ command).
While recuperating from her surgery, Diamond spent time in a foster home. Her foster family found her to be a delight. Here’s what they had to say about her:
Diamond is a lovable girl who is very friendly to new people. She enjoys getting her head rubbed, chewing on her toys and peanut butter Kong, and she loves getting tucked in at night. Diamond is a very good sleeper and is house trained. She is a good walker on leash and is a quick learner with high value treats. Diamond's zoomies are fun and entertaining, but she can get carried away with jumping up and nipping and needs help calming down after. Diamond is a very gentle treat taker. We have worked with Diamond on some verbal commands with hand signals including a thumbs up as a marker signal. And she is responsive to "no", "outside", and "walk" in ASL. We're continuing to work on kennel acceptance due to her desire to chew.
Even though she’s already been a mom, Diamond is still a young girl, so she has that young dog urge to chew on things. It would be a great help to have appropriate chew toys (like Nylabones and Benebones) readily available to swap with her if she tries to chew on things she shouldn’t (this is Puppy 101)!
She loves to hang out outside (in a securely fenced yard) but does need to live in a quiet and calm environment because she can get scared easily (it must be scary to be newly deaf)! And we did learn that Diamond shouldn’t live with cats. She has proven she likes to chase them, so it’s better that she live in a cat-free home. Dogs, on the other hand, are a maybe. She really likes some dogs and is a bit iffy with others. Diamond will need to meet any potential canine companions before going home.
And did you see her VIDEO (in her profile). This girl LOVES agility! Check out how good she is at it! This type of exercise is great for both physical and mental stimulation, and she’d love to be able to do more of it.
Do you think Diamond might be the right match for you? Would you like to bring this sweet girl home for the holidays? If so, please fill out the questionnaire at the bottom of her profile and someone from Oregon Humane will give you a call to tell you more about her.