Poor Ivor had had his share of bad luck before he was even a year old. The deaf dog had been surrendered 5 times in his short life, and all because no one knew how to train and communicate with the young Staffy.
“We suspect people couldn’t cope with him or understand why he wasn’t learning like a normal puppy without realising that he was in fact deaf,” Natalie Heaton of the RSPCA said in a story by Express UK.
Luckily, he ended up in the safe hands at the charity, whose staff members began working on hand signals with him in preparations for his 6th – and hopefully final – forever home! And when Ellie Bromilow came to meet the pup, his luck finally changed: she fell in love with Ivor and knew she had to take him home!
Bromilow and her family have had Ivor since December, and since then, have been very dedicated to teaching him tricks and commands through sign language while learning all about his adorable quirks! And all that work has paid off, because Ivor is a very smart, happy, and obedient boy, as you can see from the video below:
Bromilow said in the Express UK story:
“He’d already learned the sign command for ‘sit’ and ‘come’ from staff at the RSPCA centre but now he knows lots more like ‘lie down’, ‘stay’, ‘all gone’ and he’s learning ‘roll over’…When he gets the sign for ‘walkies’ he gets so excited. We keep him on a long lead and, if he’s looking, he’ll come to you when you raise one hand in the air.”
“Deaf dogs can cope extremely well and rely on their other senses to help them navigate and understand everything,” Heaton added. “However, there can be challenges with deaf dogs because of their hearing problems. They often bark a lot and can get quite frustrated, but Ellie seems to be managing this well by keeping Ivor mentally and physically stimulated and satisfied.”
What Ivor is lacking in hearing, he makes up for with his other senses.
“Ivor also has an amazing sense of smell so we use that for games to keep him occupied. We hide lots of treats around the house for him to find,” his mom said in the story.
The pup is now 10 months old, and on his Facebook Fan Page, his mom vows that this is the very last home he’ll ever have to settle in to – he’s part of the family for good!
“Having a deaf dog is just like having a hearing dog. We still speak to him as we sign and I chat to him a lot – even though he can’t hear a word,” she told Express UK.
We’re so happy that Ivor found the perfect family! Follow Ivor on Facebook for updates on this smart little sweetheart!
(h/t: Express UK)
