By Shannon Colavecchio, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
DELRAY BEACH -- Deaf-dog myth: Dogs that can't hear are stupid, skittish and unfriendly, traits that make them undesirable pets.
Deaf-dog reality: Dogs that can't hear are no less intelligent than their hearing peers and tend to be as lovable and attentive.
Their owners communicate with them through sign language, which can give them an advantage: If they want to ignore a command, they can look away.
Take Baybe, a 15-month-old Catahoula who lives in West Palm Beach with her "mom," Nancy LaSorsa.
"When Baybe doesn't want to listen to me, she'll just turn her head so she can't see me signing," LaSorsa chuckled Saturday, as Baybe sniffed the snouts and bottoms of several other deaf dogs gathered at the Lake Ida Dog Park.
The Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog, the Louisiana state dog, is often used for herding.
"And of course, if they run away from you, you can't just yell at them to come back," LaSorsa said. Like most owners of deaf dogs, she communicates with Baybe through a combination of standard dog obedience signals and the same sign language used by deaf people.
"But when I saw her for the first time, I just fell in love," LaSorsa said.
She also became a fierce advocate for deaf dogs and their owners, and she organized Palm Beach County's first Deaf Dog Picnic on Saturday afternoon.
The fifth such event in Florida, Saturday's four-hour picnic was a chance for owners of deaf dogs to gather for support and to debunk the kind of misconceptions that prompt some breeders to destroy thousands of dogs born deaf each year.
"We can't not educate each other and others when we go out like this," said Bradenton resident Myra Edwards, the owner of three deaf Dalmations and executive director of the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund.
"People see our Deaf Dog T-shirts and start asking questions," Edwards said, as she commanded 5-month-old Promise to sit, by raising an upturned palm past Promise's nose. "We could save a dog's life."
The Dalmation Club of America's Web site (www.thedca.org) recommends killing a deaf Dalmation as soon as tests verify the condition. The American Kennel Club doesn't allow deaf dogs to compete in agility events.
While Dalmations have the highest incidence of deafness (12 percent are born deaf in both ears), more than 64 dog breeds are known to experience congenital deafness. Australian shepherds, bull terriers and English cocker spaniels also have high deafness rates.
Laura and Brian Doherty of Lake Worth went to pick up Katrina, a white boxer, nearly a year ago and found out her sister, Helga, had been born deaf and was likely to be euthanized.
"Helga just tugged on our heartstrings, and we had tears in our eyes and just knew we had to take her home," Laura Doherty said. "Ever since, she's been so great. She's already learned so many signs."
Sunday, October 21, 2001
shannon_colavecchio@pbpost.com
