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January 19, 2006
Love is a sign of the times
Sarah Hateley and partner Bryn Davies use sign language to communicate with each other -- and with their deaf pets. Safi and Zuri, purebred Australian shepherds, know more than 25 Auslan signs.
Ms Hateley and Mr Davies, both deaf, adopted the dogs when they found they were to be put down.
"There is a high percentage of deaf people adopting deaf animals because they have an understanding of the constant commitment, effort and time involved," Ms Hateley said.
The dogs started with the basics -- "toilet" and "no" -- and have since progressed to "sit", "stay", "food", "good girl", "good boy" and "ball".
"It has taken commitment. Every time we do anything, we sign to them," Ms Hateley said. "Now they even recognise our facial expressions."
Safi and Zuri respond to vibration, meaning their owners can stamp the ground to get their attention.
Ms Hateley said Safi sometimes tapped them with her paws to get their attention.
She said their cat, who can hear, took advantage of the situation and sneaked up on the dogs to give them a fright.
Australian shepherds are among several breeds with a genetic predisposition to deafness.
Safi and Zuri also have impaired vision because of cataracts and generally wear dog sunglasses.
Ms Hateley said thousands of deaf animals were put down each year because the authorities thought no one would want them. Breeders should contact Vicdeaf if they had an unwanted deaf or blind animal.
Learn about Auslan (Australian sign language) by contacting Vicdeaf on 9473 1111.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17874447%255E2862,00.html
Posted by 4HL on January 19, 2006 11:55 AM
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