Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible. -- Anonymous
Winter 
ADOPTED 3/7/04
UPDATE 9/16/04 Here are some new pics of Winter (Lila Winter) showing off her new Gentle Leader collar. She is with her favorite person in these pics, but we've blurred her face to protect her identity (and we can assure you, she is an absolutely beautiful little girl). Enjoy
UPDATE 5/11/04 Here are some great pictures of Winter as she accompanied Laura and Valerie when delivering Moon to Arizona. She's grown into quite a beautiful little lady!
They all arrived safely last night and Winter did fine on her long trip home. We would also like to thank Laura and Valerie for transporting our new fella, Fresno, in from California! Please check back for more pics and updates. Here are a few pictures from the actual adoption...enjoy...we sure did!
2/7/04
Winter is very well socialized and
has a great personality. Since she was an "outside" dog, it took a little
while to get her to understand that she should only potty outside, but she is
learning quickly now. She does know how to sit and stay (at least for
short periods). Winter is not much of a barker, except when she is first
crated and all her treats are gone :-), but she settles down within a few
minutes. When she gets excited, she wiggles her entire back end and you
can't help but laugh when you see her do it. Winter currently sleeps in
bed with a human and 2 other doggies. She is totally deaf, but see well,
except for her peripheral vision. Winter would do best in a home with
another friendly dog, as she loves to play (rough or gently, depending on the
other dog's activity level). Since Winter is still a pup, she does jump up
and try to nibble your nose, but her foster family is working on that. Her
foster mom says she is an absolute joy and and whoever gets to adopt her will be
very lucky to have her.
Enjoy these pics of Winter playing with Joey and Chloe
Winter is a little love. She is a Blue Merle Lethal White and was born on October 24, 2003, sold by a breeder (who did a deliberate Merle-to-Merle breeding) to an unsuspecting couple looking for an outside dog to keep their other (intact) Aussie company. They got Winter for Christmas and soon noticed that she did not respond to many things. They did a little research and found us :-) After speaking with her owners and discussing some of the requirements that she would need (CANNOT be an outside dog due to her sensitivity to sun (especially eyes) and would need a little extra TLC and attention. etc), they decided it would be in her best interest to turn her over to us. When they contacted the breeder about their concerns, the breeder offered them another pup (for free) and claimed she had no idea that Winter was deaf. Either the breeder is an idiot who knows nothing about breeding Aussies or she sold a "defective" dog without passing on the information about the possibility of her impairments...feel free to drawl your own conclusions. We spend much time and money educating, but we don't seem to be able to reach those right in our own back yard :-(
Winter is currently in foster care where she is being crate trained and potty trained. She is a sweetheart, but does have a typical "Aussie Attitude". Winter will receive her final booster shot, have a blood panel done to ensure she is healthy enough to be spayed, and then will be scheduled for spay surgery. Here are a few pics of Winter after enjoying her latest escapade of playing in the freshly filled trenches...waiting at the door to come in and give everyone lots of kisses :-) Needless to say, Winter received her (at least) third bath since arriving in foster care!
To see additional (cleaner) pictures of Winter, please check out our January 18, 2004 Blind and/or Deaf Dog Group session (she can be seen doing the agility tunnel).