Delon: How a deaf spanish stray found happiness

This is not just a story of how a sad Spanish stray dog found a home but a story of how behind any dog behaviour there is a reason and how there is always a right human for the right dog, no matter how big, small, old, young, happy or troubled. If we all work together we can find them.

Delon was one of our most stunning pound dogs when in 2018 an adopter fell in love with him. Soon, he left the misery of the pound and was on his way to the UK for a much needed forever home.

Delon arrived home and loved every second of it, loved sleeping in a warm home and loved his adopters. However, when it was time to go out for walks a different Delon emerged. Delon became very stressed and reactive to cars, people and anything that moved. Living in a busy area of London quickly became an unsurmountable problem with Delon becoming more and more stressed. Due to this, it was decided that Delon needed a place away from a busy city. But who could help a beautiful but rather big dog? 

As a way to get him out of London quickly, Delon ended up in a sanctuary in Cornwall. Although it was not home, he was very well looked after and at last, he seemed to find some peace.  A week had not passed when Sandra the sanctuary owner told us:  “ I think Delon may be deaf” We were shocked and surprised as we never had any signs of this before, but when she explained to us that he always acted surprised when approached from behind we started to understand why Delon found living in London so hard.  We took him to the vet, and the diagnosis was quickly confirmed. Delon could hear very little if at all. We were so sad for Delon, but at the same time relieved.  We now knew his problem and together with the sanctuary, we got to find the right home for him.

But who wants a large dog, who pulls and is deaf?  Well, we found that this was going to be harder than expected. We publicised Delon several times, we took professional photographs of him, we took videos, and we called people asking for help, but no result. Soon, one year passed whilst we all wondered when it was going to be Delon’s turn to find a home.

Until one day….we received a call from a young lady, Sophie, who quickly told us “I can help Delon”  The adopter had two Great Danes very similar to Delon in size who had arrived with similar problems being both blind.  Could this be Delon’s person? The potential adopter, Sophie, insisted “let me try it. I know I can help him. My dogs both blind arrived to me in a terrible state and with patience, time and love they are now the happiest of dogs”

And this is how one summer day, Delon got onto a van, said goodbye to the person that had looked after him so well for nearly a year and set off to meet his new forever mum and the home he was yearning for so much.

So how was Delon’s introduction to his new home?  We asked Sophie to narrate for us how Delon got to be her perfect dog. Sophie says:

“I saw Delon, who I have now named Kovu, on Spanish Stray Dogs Facebook page and was completely awestruck. He looks so much like my two dogs I had already rescued, both from Spain. I read his biography and he pulled on my heartstrings. Disabled dogs tend to do that with me, as my two other dogs are both blind.

Reading that Kovu was deaf I just knew my dogs and I could help make him feel comfortable and safe.

I trust my dogs implicitly and knew that they would welcome Kovu and help him learn how to behave and how to handle different situations. They are calm in nature and would help Kovu to remain relaxed in more challenging situations.

So I applied and got accepted. 

When Kovu arrived, he was understandably confused and a little unsure, he had been on a long car journey to get to me. The first thing we did was go for a heel walk so he could stretch his legs and we could bond in a structured manner, with me the guide and him the follower. It was fantastic! He loved the structure and being shown what to do.  I do find it helps grow that important bond between you and any dog so they can learn to trust you.

He got on great with my dogs straight away. They welcomed him just as I knew they would.

Right from the moment, he entered my house I set up rules and boundaries, such as not going on the sofa or upstairs, or waiting for me to go through a door first. Again, he thrived on the structure and getting things right. He is a sensitive dog and just wants to please. By showing a dog right from the start what you want them to do and staying consistent with it, especially with dogs with extra challenges, I find this helps them to settle into the home so much better.

He needed time, patience and understanding and I could not ask for a better dog. He has bonded strongly with the other two dogs and takes a lot of cues from them, but they also take cues from him which is wonderful to see. He is completely off lead now and gets to meet lots of other dogs on group walks which I run.

He has become very attached to me and truly he is a big softy. I have even trained him to pick up all the plastic bottles on our walks that have been discarded and we recycle them…. Didn’t take much training, he thinks they are the best toys and I am proud to say I have an environmentally friendly pooch!!

I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to give Kovu a forever home, and as I said when I applied for him there is no way I would give him up. From the moment I showed my interest, it was for the rest of his life, and if needed, we would have worked with every trainer around to make it work. Luckily, Kovu is a very smart boy and like I said eager to please so this was not necessary but knowing it was forever definitely rubbed off on him and he very quickly realised we were his new family and we were never going to leave.

A massive thank you to everyone involved in getting Kovu to me, he is honestly perfect and a bit cheeky!”

This is how it happens.  This is how one person can help change the life of a dog and give all the rescue volunteers hope that all the dogs will find their own people. We just need to keep working and be patient. 

Thank you, Sophie and your wonderful dogs for being Delon’s champion.