In February 2019, NFR Maine Animal Rescue in North Florida took in three eight-week-old puppy siblings.
Unfortunately, one of the puppies, Emerson, was very sick. He had seizures, and he developed parvo. The rescue also realized that little Emerson was deaf.
The rescue group gave Emerson medicine and plenty of love and care. After a few weeks, his seizures stopped and he recovered from his parvo. NFR Maine was so happy to see that Emerson was healthy, and once he was ready, they put him up for adoption.
Emerson’s siblings were quickly adopted, but nobody came forward to adopt Emerson. NFR Maine shared photos of the puppy on their Facebook page and said that he would make a great companion.
“He may be deaf, he is still an AMAZING little pup with SOO much love to give! All he wants in the whole wide world is to be someone’s companion! He is not an overly needy pup, he is content snuggling on the couch with you, or finding the perfect sunny spot on the floor to relax in,” NFR Maine wrote on Facebook.
When Emerson was 12 weeks old, someone finally expressed interest in adopting him: Nick Abbott, a man who was born deaf.
Nick saw a post about Emerson on Facebook, and he was immediately interested in learning more about the puppy.
“I said- Oh, he’s deaf too,” Nick told WABI. “Maybe I can go check him out to see what he’s all about.”
When Nick arrived at the shelter, Emerson immediately ran over to him and sat at his feet. It was clear to everyone that Emerson had chosen Nick! Nick signed the adoption papers that day and took Emerson home with him.
“So you can tell he kind of picked me. And I knew right then and there that we would get along and understand each other pretty good,” Nick said.
Nick decided to start teaching Emerson sign language. The smart puppy learned the command for sit, which is the sign language letter for ‘S.’
Nick was amazed by how quickly Emerson mastered this skill, and he decided to teach him another command: lie down. Emerson quickly learned that trick too!
Nick and Emerson have already bonded—the two now spend most of their time together.
“The bond that we have is awesome,” Nick said. “We understand each other very well. I’d like to think it was meant to be. He’s special.”
Little Emerson had a tough start to life, but now, the dog has found a great forever home with an owner who understands him more than anyone else in the world. We’re so glad these two found each other! If you want to learn more about Nick and Emerson, check out the video below.
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