Moment Rescuer Sees Deaf Puppy Run to Deaf Man's Feet, Knows They Were Meant To Be Together
When he was born, a cute, floppy-eared Labrador named Emerson was likely seen as nothing more than an inconvenience and a burden to the person who surrendered him, along with his littermates, to a high-kill animal shelter in Florida.
Initially unwanted and unloved, Emerson found that his struggle was only just beginning.
The pup got a chance at life thanks to the North Florida Animal Rescue, which plucked Emerson and his siblings out of the shelter and sent them to Maine, where they were placed for adoption.
But Emerson, who had been born deaf, experienced seizures and contracted Canine Parvovirus, fighting for his life every step of the way.
Emerson lived with a foster family while waiting for an adoptive home, and while his siblings were quickly adopted, it seemed that finding the perfect person to adopt a special-needs puppy like Emerson was going to be a more challenging task.
The Maine branch of the North Florida Animal Rescue posted Emerson’s story online, where it eventually reached the eyes of Nicholas Abbot, who was immediately interested in meeting the dog.
Abbot lives in Maine and is hearing impaired himself. He reached out to Emerson’s foster mother to arrange a meeting.
“I was born deaf,” Abbot told WABI-TV. “I said, ‘Oh, he’s deaf too.’ Maybe I can go check him out to see what he’s all about.”
When Emerson first saw Abbot walk through the door, it was though the dog knew he wanted to live with Abbot forever.
“He came straight to me at the door and sat right away at my feet and stayed there,” Abbot said. “So you can tell he kind of picked me.
“And I knew right then and there that we would get along and understand each other pretty good.”
Emerson’s foster mom wrote about the meeting on the NFR Maine Facebook page, where she said she knew right away that Emerson and Abbot were meant to be together.
“Nick said he was interested in meeting Emerson because they would understand each other, being that they both share the same hearing difficulties. ( I know, all your hearts are melting right now like mine did!)
“This will go down in history as one of my all time favorite adoptions stories,” she wrote. “This will be the story I tell people when they ask ‘Why/how can you foster like that.’ That question has A LOT of answers, but the easiest is love.
“This boy deserved nothing short of a fairy tale ending and that is EXACTLY what he got!!”
As the pair is settling into life together, Abbot has already taught his puppy some basic obedience commands, using visual cues to communicate with the pup who cannot hear.
“The bond that we have is awesome,” Abbot said. “We understand each other very well.
“I’d like to think it was meant to be,” Abbot added. “He’s special.”
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