North Castle Farmers Market...Think About Adopting A Special Needs Pet!!!

Hi, my name is Hammer.... I exist because someone, unintentionally or deliberately, allowed a Merle-to-Merle breeding. I am considered a "Lethal White" Australian Shepherd and I am not alone! I am blind and deaf. There are so many others just like me, everywhere. Most of the others, you will never see since they have already been put to death at pounds in every state because they were deemed "unadoptable", dropped off by owners who realized that those "pretty blue eyes" will never see. I, too, was considered unadoptable and scheduled to die. Fortunately for me, someone decided I was worth saving. That would be my new Mom, some call her Market Lady. I am safe now…but many others are not!


When two merled Aussies are mated together, the puppies will inherit either merled genes or nonmerled genes from their parents. Some puppies will inherit a nonmerled gene from each parent, resulting in a solid-colored puppy. Other puppies will receive a nonmerled gene from one parent and a merled gene from the other parent, resulting in merled puppies. The remaining 25 percent of the litter (one out of four puppies) will receive two merled genes, one from each parent. When Aussie puppies inherit two merled genes, the result is a double (defective) merled white. These puppies are almost white in appearance and may or may not have a few merling spots or diluted speckles. These individuals can have defective organs, and their hearing and sight are almost always impaired. In some cases, the eyes are not completed formed or the puppies have no eyes. The eye rims, lips, nose and pads are without pigment except where some merling is present. The defective merled whites occur in approximately 25 percent of the litter.

So won't you please open your hearts and home to a puppy or grown up dog like me. They call me special needs but I don't know what everyone is talking about. I eat, I run, I play, I love to walk on a leash, I give lot's of kisses and most of all I love to hang out by your side. Oh yeah, that potty thing that everyone worries about. Well I nailed it in no time flat, just like a sighted or a hearing dog. So now my name is Hammer, I live in NY and I'm loving life. Hope to see you (well maybe not see you, but feel your kind touch) at the market this spring. Mom says lot's of canine friends will travel through the market. Be sure to stop by the watering hole at the market for a mutt-ga-rita (it's really just water but we can wish can't we?) and say Hammer sent you. Happy almost spring everyone.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Animal shelters exist because of irresponsible owners.