Runningbeardog News!

     My friend Anna, from Grawpaws, got some sad news about one of her pups, who our Ilo is also the daddy to.  Below you'll find a warning that she posted on her website, and I wanted to share it, as it could happen to anyone and we all want to keep our four legged family members as safe as we know how.  

 "We got some very sad news earlier this month and Kulta's owners are letting me tell their story in the hopes that it will warn others and save another dog from going through the same problem.
Grawpaw's Kulta's owner Steve had her out with him target practicing.  She had crawled under his truck while he did his shooting.  Everything seemed normal but after they got home they tried to get her to move away from the door and noticed she could not hear them.  Steve tried blowing a whistle, etc. but she was completely deaf from the gunshots. 
Acoustic trauma can be tremendous enough to cause immediate, permanent hearing loss although we hope that is not the case with Kulta.  It may be that her lying under the truck amplified the gunshots.
People, during target practice, wear ear plugs but dogs, whose ears are very sensitive to loud sounds, wear no protection. Target practice is different from hunting because you are shooting many rounds at once (not just one or two shots) and the dog is generally further away from you when hunting.  So please NEVER take your dogs to a shooting range or any target practice and when they are pups do not even take them to fireworks.
If there is a recovery, it can take up to 16 weeks so there is a good chance Kulta's hearing will come back with time.....we really hope so, because we know how much she and Steve enjoy their time in the bush.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Kulta hoping she gets even partial hearing back and with Steve, because we know how guilty he feels and hope he remembers that this was an ACCIDENT and no ones fault.  We will let you know if there is any change.....

Update as of October 20, 2009

Hi Anna,
Just an update on Kulta's hearing - on Friday she started to hear low pitches, such as talking and other dogs barking, but she seemed to have trouble locating the source of the noise. Over the weekend, that appears to have improved and she can still hear low frequency sounds, but the higher ones, such as a whistle or the beeper on her collar are beyond her hearing at present.I've been in moose hunting(got a small bull yesterday) and Kathy has been walking her off leash in the fields by her sister's house and just using voice commands with no problems. Hopefully more of the higher frequencies will return, but even if they do not she is a much happier and lively dog with her limited hearing.
We are going back home in about 1 1/2 weeks, so I will send you another update at that time - I still have my fingers crossed.

Steve & Kulta"