Franklin (formerly known as Casper) is a special boy who we saved from a commercial breeding facility in Lancaster county. He was given up after being the victim of irresponsible breeding practices leading him to be born “double merle”. Double merle refers to dogs who get two copies of the merle gene, leading them to be born deaf and blind. We knew Franklin would need a little extra guidance and attention to help him overcome his traumatic past and special needs when he arrived at our rescue.

Franklin was fostered by one of our volunteers who has experience working with special needs dogs, so he could begin to learn how to navigate this world. His foster family had him try out in a few other adoptive homes, but they soon realized he was right where he belonged all along with them 💛 Read this update from his forever mom below:

“Franklin is the most loving and fun boy I could have ever hoped for! I have a soft spot for special needs dogs, so I jumped at the opportunity to help him prepare for his forever home by fostering him. What I didn’t realize is that as I got to know him and his spunky personality, I would fall more and more in love each day. Through fostering, I found our new family member that I didn’t even know was missing!

Franklin is my little adventure buddy and loves to be right by my side hiking, camping, paddle boarding, or basically anything I do or anywhere I go. His older sister, who is also deaf, is teaching him how to slow down at the end of the day and be an all star snuggler (on his terms 😉). Franklin adores his older sister, and always makes sure to wait for her to catch up on our walks (she is a tripod), and it’s the sweetest thing you’ll ever see!

He truly couldn’t be a more perfect match for our family, and I am eternally grateful to all the volunteers at Angel’s Retreat who made it possible for Franklin to find his way to us 💛”

Franklin was very lucky to have the ending he did, as many special needs dogs don’t even get a chance to make it out of the puppy mills alive, let alone get adopted even if they do. So many people want to adopt “the perfect dog” and we just love the families who realize the true meaning of rescue, and just want to love a dog for who they are, despite any challenges or obstacles they might have to overcome. We love watching Franklin thrive and prove special needs dogs are capable of anything with the right family to guide them.