At Deaf Dogs Rock we have a lot of deaf family members adopting deaf dogs listed on our website. We ran Rosie’s original story when she went up for adoption in Nebraska about 4-6 weeks ago. KCTV TV Kansas City has a great update on Rosie and I searched for a video of Cindy Koch Rosie’s new owner so the video is from KMTV Channl 3. What a wonderful story and this is bringing awareness to how awesome owning a deaf dog can be and also how many deaf families are currently looking for a new deaf dog to add to their family.
This story makes my heart HAPPY! Enjoy! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock
From KCTV Kansas City – Deaf Woman Adopts Deaf Dog Who Knows Sign Language
Video From KHON Channel 2
AURORA, NE (KHGI/CNN) – The staff at a Nebraska humane society says it can be hard for older or disabled dogs to get adopted. But one three year old pit bull who captured the heart of a volunteer is headed to her forever home with a very special family who can relate. Both the dog and her new human, are deaf. Tracie Pfeifle says Rosie the pit bull faces challenges that other shelter dogs don’t.”You can get most dogs’ attention by saying their name or making a sound, but she can’t respond to that because she is deaf,” Pfeifle said.
So Pfeifle has been teaching Rosie sign language.”We started using treats and putting the treat up to your face and saying ‘good girl’ with your thumb up and then she figured out how, that we were communicating with her,” she said. ‘Good girl, sit, down, stay, outside, and walk’ are basic commands, but Pfeifle says it brought the three-year old out of her shell.
“It was just amazing to watch her just blossom into a dog, I don’t think she knew how to be a dog,” Pfeifle said. Then it was a waiting game for Rosie, waiting for someone willing to learn her new language to come along – until now. Cindy Koch says she’s always wanted a deaf dog. “Because I’m deaf and we want to relate to her, and understand how she feels – want to communicate with her through signing, teach her signing,” Koch said
The Koch family already knows sign language, so learning Rosie’s signs is easy. And they plan to teach her more.
