Whenever my friends or family bring out the topic about buying a dog, I always tell them to adopt from a shelter instead. There are so many wonderful rescue dogs living in shelters across the country waiting for a person to take them home. Shelter dogs deserve forever homes, even if they have special needs.
A lot of breeders don’t see dogs as companions for humans. They see them as commodities that can make a lot of money. Many backyard breeders often end up with puppies with special needs because of improper breeding practices. When backyard breeders see puppies that have special needs, they see them as an extra expense, and they end up abandoning these animals.
A dog named Arlo was born deaf and blind and was owned by a breeder. Because of Arlo’s condition, he was deemed unsellable and essentially a liability. The heartless breeder decided to abandon Arlo. Thankfully, Arlo was found by rescuers and was given a temporary home in an animal rescue organization’s animal shelter.
A woman named Mary Kate Short was looking to adopt a dog when she saw Arlo on the animal rescue organization’s website. Mary Kate thought Arlo was so beautiful, but she also learned that he was deaf and blind. Despite learning that Arlo’s a special needs dog, Mary Kate was determined to adopt Arlo and give him a loving forever home.
Arlo wasn’t confident at first. He was scared of the outdoors, didn’t like going on walks, and was scared of walking in a straight line for too long. Arlo had a very low level of confidence because of his disability.
However, Arlo soon learned that his parents were leading him around obstacles that he might bump into. Knowing this made Arlo very excited, and he also gained more confidence when going out on walks. Arlo even graduated puppy school and learned different commands despite being blind and deaf.
Arlo also loved roughhousing with other dogs. And, because Arlo had so much energy, his parents decided to get him a companion. Arlo’s parents adopted another deaf dog named Amelia. Arlo and Amelia hit it off right away. Here’s a heartwarming video showing how Arlo got adopted and learned to be confident thanks to his amazing family.
Video Source The Dodo via YouTube