Sky (Kennel name - The Sky Project) is 4 ½ years old and he came to us just before his 2nd birthday. He is profoundly deaf and partially sighted in both eyes, but we don’t know how bad this is other than his peripheral vision is not 100%.
He had been in B.A.R.K (Berwickshire Animal Rescue Kennels) for 6 months so was well and truly institutionalised. Before this he had been with a family that apparently were quite cruel to him. Young children in the family would sneak up and jump on him for fun! They had originally saved him from being shot by a farmer as a pup when he realised he was deaf which makes their treatment of him even worse!
When he came to us he was very thin, and suffering from kennel stress. He was so bad to start with that our vets were treating him for epilepsy, when actually all he needed was a settled routine and a job to do, which turned out to be agility . He would circle and snap into the air most days when anxious and circle in corners of rooms or around the coffee table. He did this every time he was let out into the garden and just seemed to go into his own world, and we had to snap him out of it. We had to take him out on a long line hail, rain or snow. It was 8 months before he came back in like a “normal” dog for the first time. What was a big help was that we had two other dogs (now three other dogs) and they would help snap him out of it.
His progress since then has been steady but good. He is still very nervous of new people and only really trusts Fraser and I. A massive step forward for him was coming to agility and all the trainers and club members have been very supportive and helpful. Cathy has been a huge influence on him and us and has given us the confidence to trust him. He doesn’t even growl much at Cathy now! He is ready to compete and we are hugely proud of him. He is now a happy and settled member of the family and we wouldn’t be without him!
