Pollywaffle

Arriving into foster care at just 9 weeks of age after being dumped at a council pound, Pollywaffle is one very special little girl.

Being deaf in no way concerns or hinders Pollywaffle - her ultra-cuteness, combined with her irresistible spirit, turns heads everywhere she goes and melts the toughest of hearts.

Not only does she boast communication skills as good as a hearing dog, including strong eye contact and a great willingness to learn, Pollywaffle has also mastered a range of sign language commands including 'sit', 'drop', 'shake hands', 'no', 'yes', 'yay', 'good girl', 'love/cuddles', 'toilet', 'wait/leave it', 'stay there/don't move', 'come here', and of course (like any puppy), 'naughty'.

She is toilet trained and, overall, extremely well adjusted.

A social media star, Pollywaffle has already received a flood of adoption interest and we expect a number of quality applications to be submitted. Ultimately we are looking for a forever home that best suits the needs of this special puppy.

Please take into consideration when applying for Pollywaffle that these criteria top our 'wish list' for her perfect home:

DOG OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Pollywaffle would love to have a forever family with either current or previous deaf dog experience. Deaf dogs do need a different level of expertise when it comes to training and socialising. For example, how you manage play and exercise in off-leash public/open-plan settings such as large properties/farms is far different to hearing dogs; recall is just not the same with a hearing-impaired or deaf dog. We would be willing to consider a forever family with no deaf dog experience if they have extensive previous commitment with dog training, or have a well thought-out plan of action should they be successful with Pollywaffle's adoption.

LIVING REQUIREMENTS
With milky white fur and pastel pink skin, pads and ears, Pollywaffle will need to be a mostly indoor dog to minimise her risk of skin cancer. This means that, day and night, she will have access to the inside of the house (not a garage or shed or shaded garden area). Ideally, Pollywaffle will have doggy-door access to a (mostly shaded) garden or courtyard so she can go to the toilet, or play and dig, which she LOVES to do.

At nighttime, Pollywaffle will want to sleep either in the same room as her humans or her canine siblings, somewhere warm and soft.

COMPANIONSHIP
We are looking for a forever owner or family that can welcome Pollywaffle into a multi-dog household. Pollywaffle's foster family feel that she definitely needs the 24/7 companionship of another dog. Even better would be a home where Pollywaffle can spend most of her time with her canine sibling/s and humans as, being a Staffy, she absolutely adores her cuddles and 'people' time. In just a few short weeks she has already become quite attached to her foster mum and has a little trouble with time apart, even with the company of three other dogs (foster mum is currently working on this).

CHILDREN, CATS & DOGS
Pollywaffle has met numerous children of all ages, from newborns to teenagers. Her playful personality (and inability to hear the cries of children whose tender skin she's innocently nipped), combined with the specialised training she requires, mean a home with at least school-aged children would be best.

Pollywaffle has shown friendly interest towards the kittens she's met. Her foster family feel she would be fine to be adopted into a home with a resident dog-loving cat if introductions and interactions were monitored as their friendship progresses.

She has also met a huge range of dogs of all breeds, ages and sizes. She loves every dog she has met so far, from little Italian greyhounds to big full-sized wolfhounds. She is one very dog-confident little pup!

HEALTH
Apart from her deafness, Pollywaffle has been given a clean bill of health.

*In foster care in Sydney's inner west*