The Sound of Silence

This past weekend was good but a bit strange. Beeps and I managed to get a lot done in terms of the clean-up of our band room/ office. In addition, our good friends Domdypants were visiting from Brooklyn. So we got to hang with them, drink some beers, and complain about the Democratic nomination race. But what made it sad you ask? Well I think our dog Joey is deaf. And it kills me to think that it might be caused by something I did. Of course this is just me being hard on myself, but who knows? I made an appointment to take her to the vet on Wednesday to get answers.

So you are probably wondering why I think my dog is deaf. And to be honest, the signs have been there for longer than I can remember. I just never put 2 and 2 together. So on Saturday it just came to me like an epiphany. I had gone upstairs while she was sleeping. Upon waking she frantically ran around the downstairs of the house looking for me. I called her, and called her but she didn't seem to hear me. Holly crap, I thought, she's deaf.

My mind then quickly raced through all the moments where being hearing impaired might be the cause of her behavior:

Why did she stop coming when I called her?
Why doesn't she wake up when I come home from work?
Why does she stare at me puzzled when I ask her if she wants to eat, go outside, or have a treat?
Why does she respond to hand signals rather than vocal commands?

So to test our theory (since the chance of her telling us herself is slim), Beeps and I conducted a few experiments. We wanted to make sure that she was indeed hearing impared and not just ignoring us. While she was sleeping, we walked up behind her, clapped loudly, and called her name at the top of our voices. No response. Not even a flinch. Next she was standing in front of me facing away. I did the same thing. No response. Later she was asleep on the couch. I took Beeps' keys and shook them wildly next to her ear. No movement.

I don't mind so much that she may be hearing impaired but what I can't help thinking is that I somehow contributed. Did I clean her ears too harshly that I damaged her eardrum? Maybe she had an ear infection that I didn't catch in time? Maybe we played too rough and I accidentally hurt her ear. Who knows, maybe she was always like this and I never noticed. I mean she never ran too far away from me, she is skittish around other dogs and some people, she sleeps pretty soundly. I dunno. I just run through all of this craziness in my head.

Well I guess we'll find out on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.