| Hope |
| A Special Special Needs Dog with a special mission |
| A double merle is the result of breeding two dogs that are merle (also called dapple in some breeds). When two merle dogs are bred some of the puppies born will be blind, deaf or in the case of Hope...both |
Hope is a Austrailan Shepard puppy. Hope's color pattern and condition is called Double Merle. Hope is deaf and is mostly blind |
| Many people think that double merle dogs are mostly white like Hope's sister Betty pictured here to the left but that is not always the case. Double Merles can look like Hope above. However, double merles are lacking in eye and ear pigment, Please notice the lack of pigment around Hope and Betty's eyes and ears. Unlike Hope, Betty can see but she is mostly deaf. Dogs like Blanca the Sheltie to the right are called Color Headed Whites, Please notice the pigment around Blanca's eyes and ears. Blanca's color is no connection to double merle. Both of her parents were white factored that is they carried the gene to produce pups that are more than 50% white. Color Headed Whites like Blanca have normal sight and hearing. |
| Hope's mission is to educate people about merle dogs so that no other puppies will be born with her condition. Merle is a color pattern that exists in many herding breeds and mixes of those breeds including: Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties) Australian Shepherd's (Aussies) Border Collies (BCs) Collies Cardigan Welsh Corgi's Merle is a color that is found in other breeds such as Pomeranians and in some breeds such as Dachshunds it is called Dapple. Merle dogs are normal just like any other color pattern but dogs with TWO copies of the Merle gene can be blind, deaf, or both |
| What Becomes of Dogs like Hope? Hope and all her litter mates were taken to the animal shelter by their breeder when they were just a few weeks old. Many shelters and rescue groups euthanize dogs like Hope because the chances of adoption are slim. Dogs like Hope require a special home because of their needs. Maybe Hope's breeder didn't know that breeding two merles would result in blind and deaf puppies, we will never know. Hope and her litter mates are some of the very few double merle puppies that have happy endings to their stories. The Sunshine Border Collie Club took the entire litter into rescue. I am a member of the Sunshine Border Collie Club and I was the transport for this litter from the shelter to the rescue. After Hope slept in my lap for the whole three hour car ride I adopted Hope as my own. Two weeks later I took Hope to see an eye specialist and Hope needs a $500.00 eye exam/surgery. During that exam/sugrey the specialist can see if we can improve and preserve Hope's sight. I am now working on raising money to help pay for Hope's exam/surgery. In the meantime I was sent home with eye drops to improve Hope's one functioning eye. A few hours after the drops were applied Hope was able to really see for the first time. 48 hours after she was able to see I was teaching Hope hand signals. My goal is to teach Hope all the commands needed to pass her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. In the meantime Hope has been to places and events with my other dogs (please see below). Hope has cheated death more than once in her short life and by living her goal is to give a name and face to the handicap that a double merle pup faces. Please if you are going to breed dogs educate yourself about your breed before you breed. |
| Hope doesn't let her handicap get her down! October 31 2009 Mikee (sable sheltie) Cosmo (blue merle sheltie) and Hope at 2nd annual pet costume contest at the Wharf in Orange Beach Alabama |
| I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the following people, businesses and organizations who are helping/helped Hope The Humane Society of South Mississippi Sunshine Border Collie Club Companion Animal Clinic Duke Animal Clinic My Celtic Dream BARC I want to also thank everyone who has put a donation in Hope's jar to help pay for her eye surgery I would also like to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who is working to help place and transport Butterfly. Without your help Butterfly would have no chance at all To learn more about Hope and to help Hope Contact me |
 |  |  |
Update To Hope's Story: Butterfly
We now know the rest of the story of how Hope was created and where she came from. Hope is the second of three litters
born to Butterfly, a deaf and blind double merle Australian Shepherd. Hope's daddy was a blue merle Australian Shepherd.
Butterfly is only three years old yet she has had three litters of puppies. When her puppies were weaned her owner would
take them to the local shelter. Despite the fact that most of the puppies were double merles and where therefore handicap all
of the puppies were successfully adopted. This past summer (2010) Butterfly found herself at the shelter where her pups had
been taken. Because the shelter staff were familiar with Hope they gave me a call and told me they had Hope's mommy and I
went right away to get her. Butterfly is blind and mostly deaf she is also heart worm positive. She has now been spayed,
updated on her vaccinations and is microchiped and on treatment for heartworms. She is housebroken, leash broken and
great with kids, she is very sweet. As of December 2010 we are arranging for volunteers to help transport Butterfly to her
forever home in NC.
Please remember Butterfly and her pups are the lucky few and Butterfly almost didn't have a happy ending to her story. I wish
we could save every handicap dog but the simple fact is most lose their lives early on. The best thing we can do is work to
educate people to prevent dogs like Hope and Butterfly from being born in the first place.
We now know the rest of the story of how Hope was created and where she came from. Hope is the second of three litters
born to Butterfly, a deaf and blind double merle Australian Shepherd. Hope's daddy was a blue merle Australian Shepherd.
Butterfly is only three years old yet she has had three litters of puppies. When her puppies were weaned her owner would
take them to the local shelter. Despite the fact that most of the puppies were double merles and where therefore handicap all
of the puppies were successfully adopted. This past summer (2010) Butterfly found herself at the shelter where her pups had
been taken. Because the shelter staff were familiar with Hope they gave me a call and told me they had Hope's mommy and I
went right away to get her. Butterfly is blind and mostly deaf she is also heart worm positive. She has now been spayed,
updated on her vaccinations and is microchiped and on treatment for heartworms. She is housebroken, leash broken and
great with kids, she is very sweet. As of December 2010 we are arranging for volunteers to help transport Butterfly to her
forever home in NC.
Please remember Butterfly and her pups are the lucky few and Butterfly almost didn't have a happy ending to her story. I wish
we could save every handicap dog but the simple fact is most lose their lives early on. The best thing we can do is work to
educate people to prevent dogs like Hope and Butterfly from being born in the first place.