JOURNEY BEGINS: Yakoo’s PAWtactile Story

In 2021, we set about looking, mostly online, for a new fur family companion. Technology makes getting information and finding great stories about lovely creatures in need of a permanent home easy, fun, and much more of an adventure. 

It didn’t take long before we came upon images and postings that offered details about a particular magnificent beast who we adopted and now call Yakoo (or DOGtor Yakoo!). [On a special page, we discuss the origin of the name Yakoo and why it is so appropriate for the earthly and spiritual nature of this dog and dogs like him who seek to find their place on our planet!]

When we first saw him on videos and then in person, he was a foot tall and packed full of fun energy. He stood out because of his bright white color, though he did have beautiful small patches of black and gray that helped draw contrasts with his pink skin and eyes – telltale signs, we learned, that characterize the type of special, special needs dog that he is. A unique companion that we had not considered adopting when we first started our search.

DOUBLE MERLES – Good and Not So

Yakoo is a genetic DOUBLE MERLE mixed breed. In his case, this means he looks somewhat like an Australian Shepherd (though we later learned that he is actually more of a Siberian Husky), as you can see from his adorable picture above. 

But what was most striking to us at the time was the fact that we knew from his bio that he, like many double-merle puppies, was born with sight and hearing challenges. His rescue and adoption life story was open about the fact that the dog who would become our Yakoo was fully blind and deaf. And yet, even with these supposed limitations, we couldn’t help but be unexpectedly attracted to the bundle of joy who has since changed and added immeasurably to our lives.

DogtorYakoo.com

This site came together after a year’s worth of love and care with Yakoo for several purposes. From the time when we first met him and began documenting (or DOGumenting) his time with us, we knew we wanted to share bits and pieces about Yakoo’s story, about his status as a double merle rescued dog, about double merle dogs in general, and about what it took to school him — all leading up to quite a surprise.

We believe Yakoo can “talk” to us as easily as we can “talk” to him. The result of this is his and our partnership in creating a new method of communication we call Yakoo’s PAWtactile language. You can see more about this on various parts of this site. We are also producing a book that we hope will grow, chapter by chapter, and with greater wisdom as he grows. We have tentatively entitled this book PICK ME, the sample cover of which is presented here. Our goals center on:

• Telling the world about who Yakoo is and all that there is that makes him such a remarkable addition to our family;
• Offering useful resources about DOUBLE MERLE dogs, including the good and bad aspects of their conditions, and ways to stop more from being bred.

Deaf and blind (#deafblind) dogs, like deafblind humans, typically learn to communicate with their caregivers through various types of touching and tapping commands. Most of these practices are based partly on the kinds of cues and signals refined through what’s known as American Sign Language. 

ASL, however, is intensively VISUALLY oriented. Those who use it rely upon “seeing” various hand signals and gestures that convey letters, words, and concepts. For people who are both deaf and blind, this is a challenging limitation. So much of what goes on around the impaired person is lost in the conversation. 

Several years ago, two women activists (themselves deaf and blind) began to address this issue. After years of practice, they laid the foundation for what is now called their new PRO-tactile (PRO TOUCHING!) language. Unlike ASL, the users depend on multiple layers of interactivity. One hand forms letters and words and such while the second hand conveys details about all of the activity in the surrounding environment.

Almost immediately after we brought Yakoo home, we discovered that we could make great use of this PROtactile language and modify it to be used more specifically with deafblind dogs (as well as deaf or blind dogs!). We call our Yakoo model our PAW-tactile (pro-touching and tapping) system of communication – an improved, personalized form of situational awareness interactivity that encourages a back-and-forth level of understanding between Yakoo and us as he undertakes his work to make the most sense out of the dark and silent world he lives in.

On the pages of this website, you can find pages of insights and resources about DOGtor Yakoo’s life and lessons. You can also find a lot of additional information about what DOUBLE MERLE dogs are and why it is important to understand why they exist – and why more double-merle puppies should be stopped in the future. 

VIDEO TALES

We encourage you to visit the various pages we’re putting together. Some are still works in progress and others are more complete. Each section offers suggestions and guidance, sometimes provided through materials we’ve found and sometimes acted out by Yakoo (and Erick) as they learned together. 

Two of the first videos we put together can be viewed below. We hope they give you useful insight into who Yakoo is and how some humans react to the challenges deafblind dogs encounter. Watching these pieces might help you understand more about the start of Yakoo’s story and where it is headed today.

GOFUNDYAKOO

Our wish is to share Yakoo’s story and struggles. We are not professional trainers, just regular dog owners and parents seeking to learn from and share our lives with special dogs. Still, if you can, please consider helping us with a gift of a contribution to our work with Yakoo to pull together educational materials, teaching tools, a book, and perhaps even a DOGumentary about Yakoo’s PAWtactile language. Find a way to make a financial offering here.

SOCIAL DOGTORYAKOO

DOGtorYakoo has active online sites. He and Erick share regular, often daily, tidbits of their learning endeavors. You can find these stories, reels, and images via Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook by sniffing down @DogtorYakoo. 

THEN CAME NUKA

About six months ago – after another day of fun and amazement with Yakoo – we decided to follow up on a lead to look at another dog in need. Like Yakoo, this young female pup was born in Georgia and was being presented to the virtual universe as a double merle who needed a unique home.

We followed up on this lead and now have a second addition to our family. As with Yakoo’s name, Nuka comes from a Native term that basically means “little sister.” The rescue/adoption site believed that Nuka was deaf, which made it extremely difficult for them to find her a home. All of her littermates found human families, but no one seemed confident enough to understand how to communicate with a dog like Nuka. In the future, there will be more stories about Nuka’s experiences and we hope to showcase how a dog like her can be a useful friend, family member, and “brother” to dogs like Yakoo because of the benefits that our PAWtactile language offer her too.

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