Special Needs: Chance is deaf

Description:

Chance is listed on our website as a courtesy listing and is not in the care of St. Louis Boxer Rescue. Members of St. Louis Boxer Rescue have not met Chance and cannot guarantee anything about this Boxer in regards to temperament, behavior or health. Please email Josh directly or call at 314.467.0304.

We have made the hard choice to try and find Chance (our 4 year old white Boxer boy) a new home. With four young kids at home (including a newborn) we overestimated the amount of time we would have available to provide him the attention, reinforcement and training he needs. Chance came to us from a rescue organization who picked him up from a family who had clearly mistreated him. He was emaciated and filled with fleas. Fortunately we were able to help him get back to 70 pounds with a healthy soft white coat.  Chance is one of the more docile Boxers you'll meet. He spends the majority of the day hanging out under our kitchen table just watching the kids play. When we come home from being gone, he always greats us with the typical energetic butt-wiggling boxer greeting at the door. He loves to be wherever we are, and follows us upstairs and downstairs just to lay at our feet.

We have found, as it is non uncommon for white Boxers, that Chance is deaf. He gets along fine for the most part, but does have some extra sensitivity to light reflections on the wall or ceiling. If someone new shows up to the house when he isn't looking, he's often caught off guard when he sees them for the first time and starts to growl. Typically a soft pet, or an introduction settles him down. Our young children hang all over him often and he just lays there and takes it. Sometimes he'll run them over on accident or step on their feet, but they're kind of used to it. He's getting better too. He has never bitten anyone to our knowledge and generally looks and sounds a lot tougher than he is. He's potty trained and has almost never gone in the house. He doesn't get up on counters anymore and doesn't beg or anything like that.

He probably needs a home where someone could work with him a little bit to ease his anxiety when new people show up. Having two hands free whenever someone comes to the door at our house is a luxury we rarely have. It would also help to take him through some formal training with hand signs etc.

He is a really good boy. We're sad that we just don't have the time to devote to him the way he needs. I know he'll make another person or family very happy.

Because he's deaf, a fenced in yard is a must! There is an adoption fee.

NOTE FROM STL BOXER RESCUE: Please know that with a deaf dog it is EXTREMELY necessary that an adoptive home have a fenced yard. A guardian with deaf dog experience would be ideal. At the very least, a guardian that is willing to make a serious commitment to learning to communicate, train and live with a deaf dog is essential. A great source of information on deaf dogs is at the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund.