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ANNIE'S SONG
Page 2 (conclusion)
Carefully Billie answered all the questions on the
registration form. She wrote about how special Annie
was and that she deserved a wonderful home. All the
time Billie was working on the form, filling out the
blanks, she would think of how wonderful it was going
to be when Annie and her real family found each other.
At that same moment, over 2000 miles away in
Virginia, Pam, Dan, Erin and Brian were talking about
the possibility of adopting another dog. Both of their
Basenjis, Cassie and Trinity were getting older and
they felt they wanted to help a dog that needed a good
home. So, Pam started looking on the Internet. There
were many sites to choose from, all very interesting,
but somehow not right. Then on one web site Pam
noticed something calling her attention to special
needs dogs. That rang a bell! Suddenly Pam saw her
fingers type Deaf Dogs in the search box.
What a shock as she read the information on the
screen, "Thousands of Deaf Dogs Killed Each Year Only
Because They Are Deaf". As she scanned the page her
eyes found the deaf dogs adoption page. Before her
were pictures of beautiful dogs looking perfectly
normal in every way only they were deaf.
When she saw Annie's picture tears came to her
eyes. Pam clicked on her name and read the information
about her. She liked what Billie had said about Annie;
how she had described her, about the games Annie liked
to play with her shadows, and about the hard time
Annie experienced in her short life. But just in case
there were a couple of others she might ask about,
too. Pam typed e-mails to all three.
Pam's entire family agreed a deaf dog would be
perfect for them. Especially since Erin, Pam's
seventeen-year-old daughter was studying American Sign
Language. This would be a chance to not only help a
handicapped dog, but to use the sign language daily.
When Billie looked at her e-mail she was elated!
There was an inquiry about Annie. When she replied
Billie enclosed her phone number so that they could
talk personally and answer any questions Pam had about
Annie.
Pam called. It was hard to tell who was the most
excited, Pam or Billie. They talked about Annie and
Dexter and what it was like living with a deaf dog.
The time flew as they discovered many things they had
in common. By the end of the conservation Pam and her
family definitely wanted Annie.
All that was needed was to work out the
transportation arrangements. Neither Pam nor Billie
liked the idea of shipping Annie by air. They had
heard horror stories about pets being stuck in
shipping crates and ignored for hours in the shipping
process. Pam would check to see what would work out
best.
After calling many airlines, Pam discovered Delta's
service, Pets First. It sounded perfect. Delta gave
the animals shipped with them special attention. The
agent assured Pam that the fact Annie was deaf would
be a blessing as it was often the excessive noise of
the plane that stressed the pets that were being
shipped.
In the days of preparation for the trip, Billie
cried tears of sadness and tears of joy. She felt
happy that Annie had found her family, but Billie
loved her and would miss her.
Pam stood waiting a long time at the airport
holding in her hands the new purple leash she had
bought for her without knowing that Cliff and Billie
had picked out a purple harness. Was it one more of
the many coincidences in Annie's new life?
A year has passed since Annie and her family found
each other. She is no longer an awkward pup but now a
confident, intelligent adult dog. Pam, Erin and Annie
have spent many hours together playing and learning.
Annie is a quick study. With each new thing she learns
Annie becomes more confident. When given a hand signal
command she holds her head high, walks with sort of a
strut, then proudly accomplishes her task. Many times
she will sing her song.
Annie and Erin are quiet a team now. They visit
schools for deaf children and Erin explains about
Annie's deafness and how she learns sign language like
they do. When Erin signals then Annie does her tricks,
rolling over, playing dead, seeking out a hidden toy,
catching a Frisbee and much more. The children are
delighted. Most of them have never seen a deaf dog and
are amazed to learn that there are deaf dogs just like
there are deaf children. Learning Annie's story and
seeing her perform is exciting for them.
Wherever Annie goes her song precedes her, it
vibrates all around her and it is carried silently in
the air. It sings her message about making the most of
what you have, of always filling your life with
wonder, happiness, and joy. That's Annie's song.
**THE END***
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