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Ivy's the talk of the town -- and we couldn't be more proud -- !! |
Click here to see this girl's three month update -- !!
Here's the story of little Ivy, the deaf pit bull puppy that was rescued from a miserable start in New Haven, CT --
-- Ivy was found at 6 weeks with her momma, who was 10 years old. The momma had given birth each of her heats (roughly 20 times), and Ivy was of her most recent litter --
-- the owner of Ivy and the momma wanted to keep little Ivy, seeing she was so cute, but had no idea she was deaf --
-- while deaf dogs aren't super special-needs, they have a challenge that still needs acknowledgment -- so that's what we set out to do --
-- find the perfect home for this little girl!
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First, enter Glenn and Christie -- past adopters from SPBR who stepped-up to help transport Ivy from her dismal situation! |
Next, my Elvis steps in to help this girl, teaching her socialization skills and the "ins and outs" of proper pit bull play -- !! |
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We even went to a local park, where Ivy met little Stephanie and became bestest of gals with her -- !! |
Ivy said, "Well, this is fun, y'all, but I think I need to land me a forever home -- !!" |
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Not so soon, missy!
Next, we socialized her more, taking her to the local county fair to get her share of pets and "ooohhss" and "aaahhhhss"...
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... and then finally, her spay -- not something that's fun to do, but absolutely necessary before placement -- !! |
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Here's the princess, with new noveau e-collar on --
-- she says, "Okay, NOW I'm ready" -- !!
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With that, we sped off to suburban Philadelphia, feeling very lucky... and fortunate -- !! |
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Here, Ivy meets her new 5 year-old brother... |
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... and then her momma, Kate.
Kate and Brian were married a year ago. Their prior pup, Veda, was an integral part of their family...
Veda was a pit/pinscher mix and was loved very much...
... so much so, that...
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... she was part of their wedding photographs -- !!
Kate writes:
"Veda would have been 13 years old this coming April. We just had to put her down this past Saturday. She had surgery about 8 months ago and they removed her spleen and a cancerous tumor. The cancer had come back and spread like wild fire. They told us a tumor had ruptured in her stomach which caused her to be sick and we took her to the vet ER immediately. "
Look at Veda -- what a sweet and gentle soul she is...
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Next, Ivy meets her Dad, Brian, and they both do their best "I didn't do it" looks -- !!
Brian and Kate are used to having a deaf dog --
-- Veda went deaf, naturally, during her last three years of life -- she was still part of their family, and they had no problems with Ivy's deafness, and had lots of ideas on training and caring for this girl...
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Here you see Ivy has officially flown the coop --
-- she's Daddy's little girl now, all the way -- !!
Kate said that Brian's eyes lit up when he first saw her on Petfinder -- that's a great start -- !!
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Next, Ivy meets Kate's aunt, a veterinary tech --
-- Ivy says, "WOW, there's a LOT of good energy coming from this direction -- !!"
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And the first games begin -- with everyone pitter-pattering on the floor to play with little Ivy, stimulating her through vibrations --
-- and she RESPONDED wonderfully -- !!
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Finally, hand signals had begun --
-- GREAT signs of a wonderful home -- !!
Since the placement, Kate writes:
"She is doing GREAT!!! She is such a daddy's girl it's too cute! Taking naps with dad and all. She is so spunky.
Thank you so much for introducing this little lady to us!!!"
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So, there we have it -- little Ivy's a pea in a pod, and her family loves her so --
-- we can all rest well knowing she'll be raised with attention given to her hearing impairment --
-- and most importantly, she'll be raised with FUN, LAUGHTER and JOY --
-- great work all -- look forward to updates soon on this girl!!
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Two months later -- and all's well!
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Well, Ivy has been in her new home for a few months now --
-- and just look at how BEAUTIFUL our girl is -- !!
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You can see here that she's got NO problem being part of the family --
-- and you can see a coy little grin here on her face, sort of like she knows she's in heaven, and she loves it -- !!
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Her momma writes --
"Ivy is doing so wonderful. She is getting so big and she is just the happiest girl. Jimmy and her play and wrestle everyday after school.
She even snuggles under the covers with us at bedtime. She really is quite the character."
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"I am not the seasoned photographer so I hope they are ok. I am learning though.
Thanks again for introducing this little lady to us! She really is a joy!
The Sutters"
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Here's baby Ivy, just playing with her moose --
-- not destroying it, mind you -- just playing -- !!
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And here she is, wrasslin' and having a ball -- !! |
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Thank you, Kate and all, for letting this little princess blossom in her new home --
-- her challenge of deafness isn't holding her back one bit, and that's a great thing to see -- !!
THANK YOU, and keep us up to date with this Aphrodite's life -- !!
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