JOIN USDeaf puppy 'being taught hand language'
Alice, a black and white springer spaniel, is learning non-verbal commands including sit, come and roll over by his new owners in Britain—Marie Williams and her partner Mark Morgan who are both deaf, The Sun reported.
She was dumped by a breeder at just eight weeks after he realised she could not hear. Subsequently, she was taken in by animal charity The Blue Cross. Staff were worried that no one would want her as she could not respond to an owner’s calls.
But Alice has found her perfect match in Williams, 41, and Morgan, 43, less than a month after she was abandoned.
Williams, from West Mersea, Essex, said: “She was so beautiful and the fact that she was deaf just made us fall in love with her even more—we knew that she would fit right into our family.
“When we went to visit her at the centre I had tears in my eyes, as she was so cute and we bonded straight away.”
She added: “I feel so angry that someone abandoned her because in their eyes she was not ‘perfect’. It goes to show with a little effort it is easy to cope with a deaf puppy. She has already learned the signs for several basic commands.”
Julie Stone, manager of The Blue Cross animal adoption centre in Lewknor, Oxon, said: “Alice is such a loving and responsive dog and she proves that with a bit of time and effort, a deaf dog can be trained and become a wonderful pet.”