‘Solo’, a deaf dog, had lived on the streets of Los Angeles (USA) all his life. When he was around 11 years old, he finally got too sick and ran through the streets with the other dogs, so he went to a woman’s porch and decided to stay there until someone came to help him.
The woman noticed the frightened older dog, which she found alone on her porch, and she decided to call him Solovino, because he “came alone.” After a few days had passed and Solo was still living on his porch, the woman contacted Rocket Dog Rescue who agreed to take care of him and they took him to San Francisco.
After arriving at the rescue center, Solo was placed in a foster home and stayed with several friends for a year and a half. He was adopted several times, and all of those times he came back.
Deaf dog lived 11 years on the street finds a family

No one could understand why the sweet dog couldn’t find a home that would stay with him forever, until finally, Carol Messina found the photo of him on the internet.

Solo’s new mom Carol told The Dodo:
As soon as I saw his face on the site, I wanted to love him. Then I saw that his name was Solovino, and being a huge Star Wars fan (I also have a cat with a ‘Star Wars’ name). I immediately thought, “Well, his name is Solo!” I found out that this was what his foster father had been calling him! He knew it was destiny. Then when I met him and saw how sad he was, I knew that he would stay with me forever, no matter what.

When Solo first came to his new forever home, he was terrified and very shy. After living on the street all his life and then hopping from house to house, he was very cautious around people, and he didn’t seem to trust that this house would finally be his last.

Carol said:
When he first came to live with me, he kept his tail between his legs for months. He was very unreactive to dogs and people and cats, and he flinched every time someone tried to pet him. I quickly learned that his hearing was much worse than his parenting thought, as was his teeth.

As Solo was already very old and ill, the rescue center and his followers had not realized that he was basically deaf, and that his teeth were in very bad condition.
Not being able to hear people approaching him was the reason why he was so anxious about people and pets, and his teeth caused so much pain that it was difficult for him to be enthusiastic about something.
His mother decided to postpone a little surgery that she was supposed to do, so she could repair Solo’s teeth right away, and once they did, he suddenly became a completely different dog.
Only now he loves to run and play anywhere and everywhere, and even loves meeting new dog friends who cross his path.

He has a best friend named Bailey, who lives in the same apartment complex, and he runs all the way to Bailey’s apartment to visit him. He’s so much happier now, and he seems to have accepted that this is his life now, and it’s never going to change.

Just found a forever home
Carol said:
People who live around us are always commenting on how he no longer looks like the same dog. He didn’t smile or barely open his mouth to even gasp for months, and now he smiles, rolls, and runs outdoors a dozen times a day.

Carol also found ways to help alleviate Solo’s anxieties caused by his deafness. Now she’s wearing a harness that says he’s deaf every time they go out, so people won’t pet him without asking. She always turns the lights on and off when she enters a room, so that he knows that she is there and that she won’t be scared if she walks up behind him.

He just has many health problems, but he is happy to live his golden years with his new mother, enjoying every moment he has left. His mother is even planning to move into a new house with no stairs, so Solo can get around more easily as he gets older, and so he can adopt even more veteran dogs in the future.

Carol said:
I am very proud of his progress. It is the best thing I have ever done in my life, and it has inspired me to get more veteran dogs in need of hospice care.
Images: Carol Messina / John W Breckenridge
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