I adopted a deaf dog no one wanted. Here's what happened.
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00:00 I was working in a rescue centre.
00:02 He was surrendered.
00:03 The owner was a table-clothed paramedic.
00:04 They noticed that he was deaf when they came in.
00:07 He didn't respond to any vocal cues or anything.
00:10 Nobody would adopt him, unfortunately.
00:12 So he'd been in there a few months at the time.
00:14 He was quite a bit crass.
00:15 He would just sit in the corner on his blanket.
00:17 I went home and I told my family.
00:19 They fell in love with him and we adopted him.
00:21 I'm Molly and this is People's Story for GOB.
00:25 He was my first ever dog and my first ever deaf dog.
00:27 (MOLLY'S FIRST EVER DOG)
00:30 It took a lot of time, a lot of trial and error.
00:33 Over time with training and just the consistency
00:36 and the routine and everything,
00:37 he went to one of the most confident dogs that I've ever met.
00:41 (MOLLY'S FIRST EVER DOG)
00:43 Ball mad. Absolutely ball mad.
00:45 (MOLLY'S FIRST EVER DOG)
00:49 He knows more signs than I could probably count.
00:52 (MOLLY'S FIRST EVER DOG)
00:55 We have our own little language and that silent connection.
00:58 (MOLLY'S FIRST EVER DOG)
00:59 He turned me into a crazy dog lady who adopts deaf rescue dogs.
01:03 We adopted Lily in December of 2003.
01:06 Lily was born deaf and she is also visually impaired.
01:11 A lot of people, if they see the two dogs together,
01:13 they're not scared of People but they are scared of Lily.
01:16 And I think it's her eyes.
01:17 She doesn't blink and probably blink like once every five minutes
01:20 at a maximum.
01:21 One of the things about adopting a rescue dog
01:24 is it's not an overnight thing.
01:26 It can take long years to get to certain points and certain things,
01:29 but you've got to celebrate every little milestone.
01:31 I remember the first time that People walked past a cyclist
01:35 and was just calm and like every other dog on the street and a friend.
01:38 Because to us, that was such a big achievement,
01:41 even though it's something so small to other people.
01:44 He's so calm but he's so funny at the same time.
01:47 See?
01:48 See?
01:49 And he's a huge cuddle bug.
01:51 He's a personal space invader.
01:53 You're sitting on the couch, he's sitting on you.
01:55 He's also the dog that will climb mountains with you.
01:59 He's climbed some of the highest mountains in the UK with me.
02:02 He changed my life absolutely in every single way.
02:04 You end up living your best life by trying to give your dog
02:11 their best life as well.
02:12 I've had a lot of experiences and had a lot of holidays
02:15 and done a lot of things that I probably never would have done
02:18 if I hadn't have been trying to do all that for him.
02:22 He's 10 and a half years old now and it breaks my heart to see him ageing
02:27 but at least doing it with grace.
02:30 He's still hiking.
02:31 He does have hip dysplasia,
02:32 so we can't take him on the same height of mountain as we used to,
02:36 but he's still so active.
02:37 He deserved a chance and I personally believe that
02:40 a disability shouldn't define an individual.
02:43 I wanted to give him that chance to be able to show
02:51 just what a deaf dog could do.
02:52 (MUSIC)
02:55 (MUSIC)
02:58 [Music]