The team at Dogs Trust Merseyside are celebrating after a deaf dog who waited three years for a home to call her own, is spending Christmas with her new family.
Five-year-old American Bulldog, Skye, arrived at the Huyton-based rehoming centre in August 2021 after her owners could no longer care for her. Having been deaf all her life, she found her new world overwhelming and was scared and anxious.
However, with the help and encouragement of the team, and thanks to volunteer foster carers caring for her in their home too, she came on in leaps and bounds. The team taught her sign language too in the hope that it would help her find a family, but sadly Skye watched hundreds of other dogs head home with their special someone, saw the seasons and Christmases come and go, and still nobody came for her.
That was until Mike Baxter and his daughter Freya from St Helens came along almost three years to the day since Skye first walked through the doors of Dogs Trust Merseyside.
Mike says: “Our Jack Russel D’Fa passed away at the age of fourteen earlier this year, so after a few months we decided to look for another dog and went along to Dogs Trust Merseyside.
“Skye was actually one of the last dogs that we saw. As we were reading about her she just flopped down in her kennel near where we were standing so she really caught our eye. We couldn’t believe how long she had been at the centre but felt we could be the home she needed. Her being deaf didn’t worry us so we chatted to the team and were introduced to her.
“We loved her straight away and so we went back to meet her a few times at the centre to build a bond and then she came home. Now we can’t remember life without her!”
When Skye arrived at Dogs Trust Merseyside in 2021, as well as being nervous, she needed cruciate surgery on both her legs. Once she had recovered from the operation she began to blossom and that’s when the team decided to teach her sign language to help her find a home.
Georgina Lowery, Manager at Dogs Trust Merseyside, said: “We always do everything we can to help our dogs find new homes and when it came to Skye we wanted to help her new owners to be able to communicate with her. She quickly learned signs for sit, lie down, paw, touch, turn around and stay. A thumbs-up sign and tasty treats are her rewards for doing well, and so now it’s a massive thumbs up as she has found her forever home and we are delighted that she’s finally going to be having a Christmas in a home of her own.”
Mike says it only took Skye a few days to settle in and she has found her happy place – on the sofa with her head resting on his lap. She likes her walks, especially if it involves going past the local takeaway as she’s always given a tasty treat.
Mike laughs: “She is quite mischievous and her deafness definitely doesn’t hold her back! She knows what she likes and usually gets what she wants! She loves playing with her toys, is really soft, loves a fuss and even allows me a bit of the bed to sleep in at night! We are going to have a quiet Christmas at home and although she has all the toys any dog could wish for, I’m sure there’ll be a few more waiting for her.
“I would encourage anyone who wants a dog in their life, to rescue. It’s amazing that Skye was over looked for so long as she’s brilliant, she just needed a chance.”
If you would like to find out more about the dogs still waiting for their forever homes at Dogs Trust Merseyside, please visit www.dogstrust.org.uk/merseyside
