We'd never done it before.

Leaving our heelers behind on a trip. With family members, yes. But never in a kennel.

I warned the wife, if anything happens to them while we're gone, you will not be forgiven. Ever.

Naturally, when we picked them up after eight days, they looked fine. Just overjoyed to see us, and smelling strongly of *dog*.

First order of business, for all three (the corgi stayed with them at our vet's too), was a bath. Where we noticed the little maskless heeler's ears were gunky inside, all the hairs sticky and slicked down.

Soon we noticed something else... she was deaf. As in, she could not hear a thing. Not a shout, hand clap, or candy wrapper. The wife thought the constant underfoot thing was insecurity and affection, but no, it was the only way she could keep track of us. She could not hear us at all.

Every time we came home, she was not waiting at the door. And awoke horribly embarrassed because we had snuck in without her noticing.

The only bright side? She completely missed several thunderstorms. Wasn't until she went outside into the rain and wind that she found out why her sister was so nervous.

Took both sisters out into the field on an excursion to radio-track a bighorn ewe. Their first true field trip in months. A fellow biologist asked, "Is this dog blind?"

Yeah. And the other one's deaf. Between the two, I've got a perfect heeler.

I soon came to realize a blind dog is preferable to a deaf one. The blind one at least hears you and knows when it is supposed to come inside. When to turn away from danger.

The deaf one is in her own world. You have to bend down in front of her and wave to get her attention.

The deaf heeler's vet appointment was today. The wife made strong mention of the fact her hearing was fine when we left her with you folks.

The vet did some checking.

It seems the "kennel girls" (his term, not ours) misread the wife's long instructions for the daily pill regimen for our heelers. For eight long days, the little heeler got the gunky medicine for treating her fistulated butthole...

In her ears.

Our dog got butt medicine in her ears. Every day for eight days. Her ears are plugged with goo.

The vet started the dissolving process. He says it should eventually all wash out.

She heard her first thunderstorm in two weeks today.

And immediately started looking for cover.

Guess she's gonna be okay.