A Deaf Man Adopted a Dog with a Hearing Impairment

• Nick Abbott is deaf and adopted a deaf dog named Emerson.
• Emerson “had a rough start to life,” with seizures and parvo, a contagious dog virus which causes a gastrointestinal illness.
• Now, the pair has a unique bond, and Abbott is training Emerson using hand signals.

They say dogs are a man’s best friend, and one Maine man found his perfect match when he adopted his dog.

Nick Abbott was born deaf, so he knew it was meant to be when he found a 12-week-old puppy, Emerson, at North Florida Rescue Maine who was also deaf.

“He came straight to me at the door and sat right away at my feet and stayed there,” Abbott told WABI. “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.”

Take a look at Abbot and Emerson’s incredible bond.

Abbot first learned about Emerson’s condition in a Facebook post.

“Emerson is now a healthy, awesome puppy,” the Facebook post read. “We aren’t sure if Emerson was born deaf and visually impaired or if it was a result of the seizures but what we do know is that neither one of those bother him one bit. He gets around quite good because he can see some. He has been given an opportunity to live life, not once but twice, so he is gonna live it!”

Whitney Sinclair of the North Florida Rescue Maine gave more insight into Emerson’s “rough start to life” when the pup made an appearance on WABI.

“Emerson was having seizures, we weren’t sure why,” Sinclair said. “He was hospitalized and developed [the contagious virus] Parvo. And they do believe he is deaf and maybe visually impaired.”

But Emerson’s setbacks are what makes his bond with Abbott so unique. In fact, Abbot has started training him using sign language and hand signals.

Emerson sits when Abbott signs the letter “S” and lays down when he signs a straight line.

“The bond that we have is awesome,” Abbott told WABI. “We understand each other very well. I’d like to think it was meant to be. He’s special.”