K-9 LifeSavers

Did you know that Dalmatians are born with a plain white coat? Their spots begin appearing within a week of their birth and by the time they are a month old they have most of their spots, although they do continue to develop throughout their life.

Interesting, it is this lack of pigment, specifically around the inner ear that has led to a high degree of deafness in the breed (approximately only 70% have normal hearing) and a reputation of being difficult to work with, or unintelligent.  Dalmatians are in fact very intelligent and loyal dogs, it was simply a problem of breeders not recognizing the problem.  Today there is an accurate test called the BAER test to determine any hearing loss, and breeders are careful to only breed dogs with full hearing.

Despite a bit of a shaky reputation, Dalmatians have successfully worked as service dogs since their origins in Croatia in the late 1700s.  Dalmatians were used largely as a carriage dog, accompanying horses and carriages on their travels to act as a guard to the passengers, reassure the horses and keep the stables free of vermin. Their place on carriages led to their reputation as a firehouse dog, even when horse-drawn fire engines were replaced by automotive ones, the Dalmatian remained. Many firefighters still choose Dalmatians as pets in honor of the breeds past heroic deeds, as well as the fact that they are a fun loving breed that is very easily trained and rarely aggressive.

Kiwi's spots are more like freckles right now, but this little girl is only a couple months old and may grow into her colors a little more. Kiwi is very sweet and gentle. She loves other dogs, perhaps because she's an only child - that's right she was the only puppy born to an 11-year-old mother.  Kiwi is smart and loving and looking for a home of her own.  Will you be her hero?