‘She’s a great little girl and ready for lots of love’: All4Paws trains deaf dog to prepare for adoption

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (WMBF) - Callie looks like any other dog, she’s playful, curious and excited to meet people and other dogs. But, what you can’t see is Callie is deaf.

Volunteers at All4Paws, an animal rescue center in Pawleys Island, use a variety of hand cues and treats to communicate with her.

“We’ve had to take a couple extra preparations and steps to make sure that she gets all that she needs,” said Allison Gillespie, director at All4Paws.

Volunteer Te Andrew, who has been with All4Paws for eight years, has had to take a different approach with Callie but could sense her enthusiasm from the beginning.

“You could just tell she wanted to learn; she found being around people fascinating,” said Andrew. “So that’s why we just knew we had to do something a little bit different with her.”

Andrew said she did some research on deaf dogs, and one idea she came up with was getting Callie a vibration collar.

“You have to train her that when she feels that vibration, she’ll look at you,” Andrew said.”When she does, you treat her.”

Training Callie will be a process, according to All4Paws staff, but they think she will be ready for adoption in about a month. When she is adopted, All4Paws hopes to continue working with her new family to keep her on track.

“Hopefully we can provide the support that they need, you know, with trainers and things like that, so they can keep her on the right track and not have the regression that you don’t want to happen when they get to a home,” said Gillespie.

But, volunteers all share a common sentiment.

“She’s a great little girl and ready for lots of love,” said Gillespie.

To learn more about All4Paws you can visit their website.

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