The gap of understanding between humans and animals is vast, and building a bridge of communication is a rewarding part of being a pet owner. Leslie Smith brings us this Perspective.
My dog’s name is Mosey, but he’ll never know it: He’s completely deaf. We adopted him two years ago when he was around five years old, and as far as anyone can tell, his world has been completely silent since the day he was born.
It was impossible not to find him charming in those first few weeks at home. He made adorable grunty noises as he gobbled his kibble, and the twitches and turns of his giant ears betrayed the fact that not a trace of sound was coming through. He was amazing with other animals, especially our older pit bull, Sprout.
But that initial stretch had also been frustrating. According to the rescue group, he’d literally spent the first four years of his life in a single room. He knew no hand signals. He wasn’t housetrained. At times, he’d stare vacantly through us, seemingly unreachable, and it didn’t help that he’s a tank — the circumference of his neck dwarfed only by his enormous cranium.