Unwanted Deaf Puppy Finds Companion Who Truly Gets Him

Meet little Emerson. He’s had his share of scrapes in life. You might even say that it’s been “ruff.” After being abandoned by the roadside with his little siblings, Emerson was taken to a shelter where he was diagnosed with fatal—and expensive—health issues.

Emerson, along with his six-week-old brothers and sisters, was left all alone by the side of the road in northwest Florida. A kind stranger spotted them and brought them to the North Florida Rescue. They could have otherwise been sent to high-kill shelters, but luckily, Emerson was sent to the right place.

Two weeks after they were picked up and given care, the black Labrador pups were sent to another rescue center in Maine. While Emerson’s siblings had high prospects for health and adoption, our boy wasn’t so lucky. It wasn’t just that he was the runt of the litter, which made him the smallest of the bunch—there was something else.

As well as having to deal with his leg, Emerson began having seizures. They began coming regularly, and he needed help each time—so much help that they had to send him to the vet for observation and treatment, where he received a series of tests and fluids.

The bad luck just kept coming for Emerson. First his leg, then the seizures—Emerson eventually stopped drinking water or eating anything he was given. The puppy seemed to have given up on life. Thankfully, his seizures, which had an unknown trigger, stopped as soon as they had begun. 

After the seizures subsided and he looked to be getting better, Emerson took another hit—he developed Canine Parvovirus—or Parvo. The disease is highly contagious and can be caught through an infected floor or surface and other infected dogs.

By this point, all of Emerson’s siblings had been adopted by families in Maine. Emerson was all alone and struggling to draw breath. The volunteers at the center were already bracing themselves to hear sad news as each day passed. 

Just as mysteriously as the seizures came, Emerson’s status began to change. He slowly regained his strength, his appetite, and his will to keep going. With the volunteers’ support, Emerson was healing. He was even fending off the Parvo.

With these positive health signs, the rescue center began a campaign to find Emerson a home to call his own. They even put his little face on TV to try and draw some compassionate individuals into adopting him. They were open about his difficulties.

Apparently, the volunteers only noticed that he had hearing and seeing difficulties after he returned from the vet in Florida. Poor Emerson was doing his best to get by, but in the time when he was healthy enough, he was just a regular dog.

His deafness could have been something that Emerson was born with, or it could have been the result of his seizures. It was hard for the vets to say. His visual impairment seemed like an on-and-off problem—the volunteers could tell he wasn’t blind. 

His experiences were shared as pictures on the rescue center’s Facebook page. The rescue center even set up a little diary told from Emerson’s point of view to try and win people over and get them to look past all of his special requirements. Above all, Emerson needed love.

Everyone who knew Emerson couldn’t understand why nobody would take him. In one of “Emerson’s” posts, he said, “my mom pictures me with someone that loves to be outside, camping, and going on adventures!” With the post were some adorable pictures of Emerson frolicking at home and out in the woods.

While Emerson was one house short of a family, he wasn’t lacking in attention. His story was seen and heard far and wide. He had plenty of people calling in and asking about him, but so few of them seemed to be willing or able to take him on full-time. 

After so much time waiting and yearning for a permanent family, Emerson’s moment had come. A man named Nick Abbott got in touch with the center, asking about him. In a way, Nick was uniquely disposed to understand Emerson compared to any other owners. 

Nick caught wind of Emerson’s story from one of the pup’s posts on Facebook. Nick, too, was born deaf. He thought he should go visit him to see “what he was all about,” he said later to WABI-TV, a CBS affiliate. Of course, it turned out to be a great match. 

A few days after Nick had sent his inquiry, Emerson arrived at his home to “sniff out” this new guy. The two began showing instant chemistry. Emerson loved this new house and the nice man that lived there, and, of course, Nick was smitten. 

Emerson had always been a friendly pup, but seeing him just walk up to someone and sit with them was unprecedented. Nick knew that they would be a special pair from then on. Nick told WABI-TV,  “I knew then and there that we would get along and understand each other.”

Every pup needs training, and Emerson is no different. Nick had to go about teaching him some sign language to help him learn basic commands and tricks. Being so young, it was the perfect age to get started. Nick got started soon after Emerson had settled into his new environment.

With a little patience and unconditional love, Nick taught Emerson some tricks. Now Emerson will sit or lie down when commanded via sign. To get him to sit, Nick signs the letter “S.” To get him to lie on the floor, Nick signs an “L.”

It’s not often that an abandoned pup like Emerson gets a second chance with a loving owner. It’s nice that we get to see a “happily ever after” for ourselves this time. Emerson just so happened to find the perfect family to take care of him.