This beautiful Happy Tail was submitted by Fred Pfisterer of Staunton Va. Here is Rosie’s Happy Tail

I picked Rosie out of a pack of a dozen dogs at Dalmatian Rescue of Southwest Virginia. Something just clicked and I knew that she was my new dog. She was between 7 and 9 years of age, very thin and frightened and had been picked up by animal control officers running in a park, She had been at the kennel about three months.

 

I didn’t know she was deaf until my vet tested her hearing.That made her all the more special in my eyes.

She was my first deaf dog so I went on the Internet to learn how to communicate with her. I worked out a series of hand signals but I still talk to her out of habit.

I’ve had her for three years now, and it took me almost a year to fully gain her confidence. She has turned out to be a wonderful, loving companion. I don’t consider her handicapped because she has never had hearing. It’s just she has special needs.

Maybe they’re traits of most rescue and deaf dogs, but I find Rosie is very special. She is extremely patient, uncomplaining and grateful. Because she can’t hear, she watches my every move and responds instantly to hand commands. She’s a wonderful dog to walk because nothing phases her and she heels perfectly.

My next dog will be a deaf one too.