Miss-Delectable
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News 8 :: KFMB Stations, San Diego, California
A Sorrento Valley dog and his trainer share a special bond. Working together, both have overcome challenges.
In September of this year, dog lover Sharon Heck was still grieving.
"I had lost a pet that we had for 13 years, so about six weeks later my husband said 'Go find another dog,'" Sharon said.
At the Escondido Humane Society, she found Princess.
"She's part lab, part foundation," Sharon said.
It wasn't until Sharon took Princess home and checked out her paperwork that she discovered the dog was totally deaf.
"So it's like, oh, what do I do now," she said. "I didn't think you could train a deaf dog."
She brought Princess to Snug Pet Resort in Sorrento Valley, where Tom Riche is a trainer. He's been training dogs for the past 18 years.
"I have an optic nerve disease. It's kind of what got me into dogs. It's called neuropathy, so I'm legally blind. I have no central vision," he said.
Tom has trained other deaf dogs, and this challenged pair have developed a solid bond. The crux of the training is getting Princess to do what Tom can't do - focus.
"My goal is relationships. We're going to teach her relationships and trust," Tom said.
If Princess went chasing after a ball or running after another dog, she couldn't hear a horn or a siren, or even her owner's voice. But Tom says with training, soon Princess will be able to live a pretty normal life.
"Even if she's relaxing on or off leash, she's checking in with us and paying attention, so we can't lose her," Tom said.
This man and dog are learning together and are fortunate to have found each other.
"I consider myself lucky, so to be able to help a dog like this is really cool," Tom said.
Together they are both finding freedom between the bounds of their limitations.
A Sorrento Valley dog and his trainer share a special bond. Working together, both have overcome challenges.
In September of this year, dog lover Sharon Heck was still grieving.
"I had lost a pet that we had for 13 years, so about six weeks later my husband said 'Go find another dog,'" Sharon said.
At the Escondido Humane Society, she found Princess.
"She's part lab, part foundation," Sharon said.
It wasn't until Sharon took Princess home and checked out her paperwork that she discovered the dog was totally deaf.
"So it's like, oh, what do I do now," she said. "I didn't think you could train a deaf dog."
She brought Princess to Snug Pet Resort in Sorrento Valley, where Tom Riche is a trainer. He's been training dogs for the past 18 years.
"I have an optic nerve disease. It's kind of what got me into dogs. It's called neuropathy, so I'm legally blind. I have no central vision," he said.
Tom has trained other deaf dogs, and this challenged pair have developed a solid bond. The crux of the training is getting Princess to do what Tom can't do - focus.
"My goal is relationships. We're going to teach her relationships and trust," Tom said.
If Princess went chasing after a ball or running after another dog, she couldn't hear a horn or a siren, or even her owner's voice. But Tom says with training, soon Princess will be able to live a pretty normal life.
"Even if she's relaxing on or off leash, she's checking in with us and paying attention, so we can't lose her," Tom said.
This man and dog are learning together and are fortunate to have found each other.
"I consider myself lucky, so to be able to help a dog like this is really cool," Tom said.
Together they are both finding freedom between the bounds of their limitations.