Hearing the Call

Before I knew Lothair existed, before I laid eyes on Lothair and brought Lothair into our home, I knew he was going to be deaf. I also believed in my heart that he would, someday, against seemingly insurmountable odds, become a registered therapy dog to give emotional support to both children, deaf and nondeaf, and adults. I was determined to do it—it’s been documented that some breeders, when a puppy is born deaf or visually impaired, have it put to sleep, because the owner may not want to go to the trouble of training or finding a home for it, or the dog could negatively reflect on breeding stock. If I succeeded, I could show those owners another way.

Lothair, a Shetland sheepdog, was born deaf. I was not. But when I was twelve years old, I lost my hearing when a doctor