
Keller, a rescued deaf
Bull Dog/
Pit Bull mix, shows her comedic flare.
Melissa McDaniel, (c)2009It's Deaf Dog Awareness Week and we're happy to bring you an interview with Melissa McDaniel, an avid
deaf-dog advocate and blogger, as well as photographer for
The Photo Book Projects, a stunning series of soon-to-be-published books calling attention to deaf and rescue dogs.
(Don't miss the great giveaway at the end of this post!)What is the purpose of The Photo Book Projects?
I wanted to do something to raise awareness and money for deaf-dog advocacy [and rescue] groups and to show these dogs for the beautiful animals that they are. In many respects, deaf dogs are just like hearing dogs. [My deaf dog] Sadie has a great life. She has no idea she's deaf and if she does, she doesn't let it hold her back. Humans could learn a lot from deaf dogs.
What inspired you to create the books?
My dog Sadie is a deaf
Border Collie mix that I adopted. Her mother was deaf and she passed this trait along to the puppies. After getting Sadie, I learned all about the issues deaf dogs face, including the horrible statistic that thousands of deaf dogs are put to sleep each year simply because they are deaf.
Why do you think deaf dogs are singled out?There are many myths circulating about deaf dogs, including that they are untrainable, dumb, stubborn and aggressive, and these just aren't true. Many of the dogs appearing in the books are better-trained than most hearing dogs I know and some are even therapy dogs and/or compete in agility.