Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Homeless & deaf... give her a chance
Sign language lessons point the way
Deaf pooch Lollie was trapped in a world of loneliness until the perfect carer came along. Rescue centre volunteer Phoebe Curtis is also hearing impaired and now the two have struck up a special bond.
Phoebe, 18, communicates with the gentle crossbreed using sign language. She said: “Lollie already knew some hand signals so I started to spend time with her and almost instantly felt that we had a connection.
“She is the most loving dog ever and adores human company. The methods used to communicate with dogs are the same for humans, so it is possible to train a deaf dog to respond to lots of different commands.”
Lovable Lollie has been at the Dogs Trust Evesham Rehoming Centre since June but has had very little interest from potential adopters, possibly because of her deafness. So Phoebe, from Stratford upon Avon, has built up a range of signals teaching five-year-old Lollie sit, down, stay and paw. She’s currently teaching her the signs for “roll over” and “drop”.
Centre manager Chris Slight said: “When Lollie came to us, we worried she’d be overlooked. Sometimes people feel they can’t cope with a dog like Lollie. But deaf dogs can be trained fairly easily using hand signals and positive, reward-based techniques.
“Despite not ever being able to hear someone call her a good girl, her lack of hearing hasn’t held her back. Phoebe has proved dogs like Lollie are able to develop bonds with people.” Lollie would be suited to a home without children or other animals, ideally in a quiet, rural location. The Dogs Trust team will give Lollie’s new owners support and guidance. If you can give her a loving home, please contact
Dogs Trust Evesham on 0300 303 0292.