The temptation is strong.

But Maddie is stronger.

The Australian cattle dog lays in the grass at Monument Valley Park, a pink heart tag dangling from her collar with the words: “I’m deaf.” She patiently waits for her owner, Eric Melvin, to give her the hand cue to eat the square piece of kibble resting on her right paw. Gobble.

But there’s still one more piece he’s placed on her left paw. Melvin walks away, circling her. She focuses on him. There’s the cue. Gobble gobble. Melvin gives her a thumbs-up to indicate “good girl.”

“She can do anything a hearing dog can do,” Melvin said. “Deaf dogs are a dog first, breed second and deaf third. We don’t train with anything electronic. It’s all bonding with positive reinforcement and lots of treats and toys.”

Ever since acquiring the caramel, ash and white-colored lovebug, Melvin’s taught her more than 40 visual signals to do such tricks as jumping through a hula hoop and balancing a rope toy on her snout before flicking it off and catching it in her mouth.

She’s also a kissing bandit who loves nothing more than to lap a human face, including Melvin’s. One of her tricks involves gently taking a piece of kibble from between his lips.

“Eric & Maddie the Marvelous Deaf Cattle Dog” will be at Colorado Springs Pet Expo this weekend at Colorado Springs Event Center. They’ll perform three times each day Saturday and Sunday.

Melvin, who lives in Colorado Springs, acquired the 4-year-old dog in 2020, about five months after the death of Angelyne, his beloved first deaf cattle dog of 13 years. The duo performed for years as “Eric & Angelyne the Amazing Deaf Cattle Dog,” visiting kids, particularly those with special needs, and doing corporate gigs and other public events around the country. Melvin’s mission? To inspire people, advocate for deaf dogs and help train cattle dogs.

“It’s amazing what dogs will do for your life,” Melvin said. “When the world sees what you’re doing on a bigger stage, it’s even more magnified.”

His story began almost two decades ago, when he visited a litter of Australian cattle puppies and fell in love with the one tiny female pup who didn’t interact with him at first, but eventually came around, tapping his knee with her muzzle and gazing at him. Nobody knew she was deaf, something Melvin discovered weeks later during obedience training. He took up the gauntlet of raising a deaf dog and the two developed their language of hand signals and tricks and then taking them public.

When Angelyne died, it was a dark time.

“I was crushed. Absolutely devastated. I was a mess,” Melvin said. “All the stuff I’d accomplished with her, there’s no other way any other dog could match with her, but I knew my mission was too important.”

The day after she died he began getting messages from people around the country telling him about available deaf cattle dogs. After allowing time for the darkest days of grief to pass, Melvin considered the invitations and met with a woman who drove from Arizona to the Springs with Paisley née Maddie, her young cattle dog who was too much for her household and level of dog care.

“She came and sat between my legs and kissed me and I just knew,” Melvin said. “She was the one. Angelyne had some divine intervention in this.”

Their work and advocacy continue. And it’s a second chance for Melvin, who still weeps when he talks about the life-changing Angelyne.

“This is a second chance to repeat the magic and reshare a wonderful story created so many years ago, but with a fresh perspective and a new soul doing it,” he said.

“I almost walked away and gave up because I was so broken over Angelyne. I didn’t want to get another dog and have there be comparisons. They’re trained in the same way, but they both have own souls and personalities. They do things their own way. They’re going to bond with me in a different way.”

Contact the writer: 636-0270