Rescue Tails / Mavis & Mallory

For Coco the Basset Hound puppy, life was hard from the start. In the increasing frequency of unethical breeders, more and more dogs are being bred for things like color or coat pattern, instead of health, temperament and genetics.

Currently, a color pattern called “Merle” is growing in popularity. Merle is a distinctive coat pattern in dogs that’s characterized by irregular blotches of color against a lighter background. Although beautiful and unique, this color can also be associated with health problems, primarily deafness and blindness. Awareness is key to responsible breeding; it is not recommended to breed two merles together. Breeding two merle dogs together can result in a double merle, which has a 25% chance of occurring in each puppy. Double merles have a higher chance of being deaf, blind, or both because they lack pigment.

For $2,500 each, a breeder in Florida was purposefully breeding her two predominately white coated, blue eyed merle Basset Hounds to produce double merle puppies. That same irresponsible breeder did not disclose to any of the buyers the health problems associated with double merle dogs. Therefore; the person who purchased Coco had no idea she was deaf.

All pets with special needs are as capable of giving love, and as deserving of loving homes as any other pet. However; not all people are equipped to address the specific demands of a special needs pet. For example, being deaf has its own set of challenges when training. The puppy could not hear “sit”, “stay”, “come” or “no.” Instead, a deaf dog learns sign language, just like people can! This was especially frustrating considering Coco’s breed. Hound dogs are known for being intelligent, having an exceptional sense of smell and a very loud “bay” or bark. Altogether, it was too much for Coco’s owner, and she was surrendered to our Marathon Campus for adoption.

There’s no denying the fact that Coco was absolutely adorable. She was also as described. A wild, untrained, deaf, loud puppy. We needed a foster who would be willing to work hard to first, teach her sign language, and then, teach her manners and how to navigate this big new world.

Luckily, we knew just who to call. Mallory is a long time friend, adopter and foster for our Marathon Campus. She is also a Sea Lion trainer and knows all about training animals with hand signals. With a Basset Hound of her own, Mallory was up for the challenge! Of course, just to foster.

After several weeks, Mallory told us it was time for Coco to find her forever family. We were excited to hear that she had done so well and that our little deaf puppy would be ready to find a family all her own. So, with all of the adorable photos from her foster mom, and a detailed description of her special needs and ideal family, little Coco’s story nearly broke the internet. We received dozens of applications from near and far, all interested in little Coco. When we called Mallory to let her know about all the wonderful applications, the reality quickly set in that she would have to say goodbye to little Coco. The thought of it was too much to bear, and in less than 24 hours Mallory went from foster, to adopter.

It’s true that when you stop looking for love, it finds you. There are the animals we pick, and those that pick us. For Mallory, and the little puppy, now renamed Mavis, she may not have been a dog that Mallory was looking for, but she was certainly the dog she needed.

Being a foster is one of the most difficult volunteer positions available with the Florida Keys SPCA. Although we provide you everything you need, you’re providing the same love and care that you would give your own animals. Naturally, a bond develops, and the love between you and your foster animal flourishes as you help them grow, play, and learn. Letting a foster animal go is undoubtedly the hardest part, which is why so many fosters become foster fails. We love our heartwarming foster failure stories, but each one leaves us with a void. For every foster that fails, we need a new foster to step up and take their place for the next animal in need.

We are always in need of fosters at both our Key West and Marathon Campuses. We need fosters for many different reasons. From kittens in need of round the clock care and bottle feeding, to puppies that need a safe place to learn and grow, to older pets that need a soft couch to sleep on, or medical animals in need of extra care before they are ready to be adopted, there’s always an animal in need. We even have a special foster program just in case of the event of a Hurricane, should we need to evacuate our animals to safety. Our foster volunteers are true heros, and integral parts of the work we do. To learn more about our foster program, or to become a foster visit us online at https://fkspca.org/volunteer/become-a-foster-volunteer/.