Adopt This Pet: Yuki the Border Collie Mix

Meet Yuki, a 6-month-old Border Collie mix currently up for adoption through Redmond-based Motley Zoo Animal Rescue.

Yuki is completely deaf in both ears and has limited vision, but he doesn't let his disabilities get him down. He is high-energy and loves to run around the yard and interact with other dogs.

Notes from Yuki's foster home: Yuki is a sweet young dog who doesn't let his disabilities slow him down. Yuki is deaf in both ears, and we do not believe that he hears anything at all. Yuki also has Merle Ocular Dysgenesis, which is from poor breeding of merle to merle dogs. The eye specialist thinks he has about 40 percent vision in his right eye and 60 percent vision in his left eye in poor lighting conditions. However, this sweet boy doesn't know that he has a disablility and is enjoying life everyday! You wouldn't notice his vision problem at all just by watching him, he gets around just fine, night or day. His pupils in both eyes are a little misshapen, but it's not overly noticable. 

Yuki is a smart guy who is quickly learning hand signals for commands and training. He is doing wonderfully in training classes and at doggy daycare! Yuki is lucky enough to have a wonderful team of people on his side. His foster family loves him and is working hard with his training and daily care. Yuki has been invited to attend doggy daycare 5 days a week at Tails A Wagging in Bellingham, Washington. This is a wonderful oppertunity for him to learn manners, socialize with other dogs, and work on his hand signals everyday while his foster mom is at work. Yuki loves going to Tails A Wagging and is making many wonderful human and dog friends there!

Yuki is currently in a foster home with three large dogs. He loves to play and run zoomies in the yard. He is a herding breed so he does practice his herding skills on the other dogs in the yard, which they weren't too fond of at first! Yuki also lives with a small cat who he is learning to respect—she doesn't put up with much as she has been raising foster dogs her whole life. So a dog-savvy cat is a must! If the cat runs, Yuki is going to chase it, though he won't know what to do with it if he ever caught it; it is just his herding instinct. Yuki also loves spending time with the young child in his foster home, he is gentle and sweet with her. But because of Yuki's disabilities we are recommending kids be over 10 for his forever home. Deaf dogs scare easily if they are woken from sleeping or if startled since they can't hear you coming. We want to make sure that Yuki and his family are safe for his lifetime, so kids who understand that he needs his space sometimes are the most appropriate for him.

Being a herding breed, Yuki has lots of energy! He loves doggy daycare and so does his foster mom because he comes home TIRED! If daycare is not a daily option for Yuki (which it is not for most dogs), he will need daily physical exercise to keep him happy and healthy. Running, biking, hiking, or other outdoor fun will be great for him. He will need to be on leash during activities until he is very well trained in recall, which may include a vibrating collar to get his attention. We are currently looking into this training for him. Mental stimulation is also important for Yuki, including eating his meals from a Kong so he has to work for them, food puzzles, and training exercises. His mind and body need to be tired at the same time after a long day.

Yuki is crate trained. He sleeps in his crate and also spends time in his crate when he is unsupervised. His crate is a safe place for him, and he is learning to love it. We highly recommend his family continue the crate training as it gives him a safe place to sleep where he cannot be startled quite as easily! Yuki is house broken, not having any accidents in his crate or in the house since he has been in his foster home. Yuki shares well with the other dogs and has not shown any guarding behaviors around his foster's dogs.

This smart guy is going to make a great addition to someone's home. The sky is the limit for this dog and he just needs someone who can help him get there. His foster recently ran into a dog very similar to Yuki and he is an advanced agility champion, so don't let his disabilities fool you...he can do anything any other dog can do, except hear the pizza guy show up at the front door!

How to adopt: Email adopt@motleyzoo.org to request an adoption application. For more information about Yuki, check out his Petfinder profile or visit www.motleyzoo.org.