Blind and deaf stray dog finds forever home in Penticton

A stray dog who is blind and deaf found a forever home last week with a woman in Penticton who has experience caring for dogs with disabilities.

Jolene Chernoff was heartbroken over the recent death of her blind pitbull when she heard of another blind dog named Clifford in need of a home.

“I feel in my heart my pitbull prepared me for Clifford and sent him to me,” she said. “It gave me a purpose and it is nice to have a dog to keep me company.”

Clifford was a stray dog who was rescued and brought into the care of the B.C. SPCA after he fell down a ravine in Williams Lake mid-December.

Chernoff drove to Williams Lake and back last week to pick him up and bring him home.

READ MORE: Deaf and blind dog survives fall down ravine near Williams Lake

“We met each other and I adopted him five minutes later,” she said. “He loves people and wanted to be loved.”

The transition has been smooth as the pair work out how to communicate through tapping and Clifford learns how to walk on a leash.

“When I go to pick him up I tap on his side twice,” Chernoff said. “To tell him he is a good boy I pat on his back near his tail twice. Tapping doesn’t require skill, it is more about repetition, you have to keep up with it. Working on a leash has been challenging, he has no leash skills.”

When Clifford was dropped off at the B.C. SPCA in Williams Lake he was in poor condition.

“The poor dog had clearly been neglected and was very scruffy and in desperate need of grooming,” Williams Lake B.C. SPCA manager said in a media release issued Dec. 15. “He had weeping eyes, infected ears and is almost completely blind and deaf, so he was in a very bad way.”

Dighton said Clifford would be “in heaven to have a warm, cozy home with a guardian who understands his special needs.”

READ MORE: Penticton family dog rescued after five months on the loose in Sicamous

It's been a week and Chernoff said she is still getting to know her new dog.

“He has a really goofy personality,” she said. “He loves getting onto the bed and rolling in the blankets furiously before he has a nap. He loves sitting on the couch and he loves snacks.”

If you'd like to make a donation to B.C. SPCA, go here.

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