7-Month-Old Puppy Abandoned 5X Before Rescuers Discover He's Deaf
Dogs are one of the most common household pets. Over the centuries, dog and man have grown to understand each other well.
Despite this seeming familiarity, it can still be difficult for people to understand their particular dog’s behavior. That’s why trainers and behaviorists exist — to let you know just what’s up with your pooch and bridge the gaps in communication.
Unfortunately for a young dog named Ivor, no one took the time to try and figure out why he was such a “bad” dog. Instead, someone would see his cute face and he would charm their socks off, but after they took him in they’d soon realize he wasn’t listening to them.
So he was shuffled from home to home. He was reportedly adopted and then abandoned five times before arriving at the RSPCA for Halifax, Huddersfield and Bradford.
At the RSPCA, someone finally discovered the root of Ivor’s bad habits: He was deaf!
No wonder he wasn’t responding to commands and was being naughty. He couldn’t hear people tell him stop or understand what they were saying to him.
Once staff figured out what ailed the pup, they began to train him using something he could understand: sign language!
He learned the commands “sit” and “come” and was on his way to understanding people and being a good boy.
In December, Emily Bromilow met him. Even though some people in her family were hesitant to bring a deaf dog into their lives, she had faith in him and adopted the sweet dog.
“Having a deaf dog is just like having a hearing dog,” Bromilow said. “We still speak to him, as we sign and I chat to him a lot.”
Bromilow has worked with Ivor to teach him a variety of other commands. She has found that while he may not be able to hear her, his other senses are very sharp.
“Despite my deafness you will find I have bags of cheeky personality and I am one smart dog!” Bromilow wrote for Ivor on his Facebook page.
“While other doggies might miss things my eyeballs are trained to observe everything, even as I sleep I peep, I see all, feel vibrations of doors and footsteps and can sniff a piece of chopped ham almost a mile away!”
“In fact Ellie thinks I could have had a cracking career as a sniffer dog! I am particularly talented in picking up new tricks in exchange for treats and stealing food (an unfortunate past element which wont leave me). I enjoy doing my own shopping for treats and food in a local petshop (sssh I help myself to the odd scooby snack whilst browsing).”
Just like any other dog, Ivor’s keen sight and sense of smell help him alert his people when there are potential “threats” nearby, including all sorts of vermin.
He also still has a few bad habits, but overall seems to be settling in nicely with Bromilow and the family.
And his favorite part of the day? Bedtime.
“In my leisure time I enjoy digging large craters and pulling up ornamental bushes and plants, I also enjoy eating herbs and flower heads, but the highlight of my whole day is getting into bed with my kong full of carrots, spam, dog bisuits and peanut butter – in fact i love this so much that I often request my bed early but the family make me wait until their bedtime.”
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