At 6 weeks old, Emerson the puppy was dumped at the pound, left to fight for his life against a slew of health issues. According to staff at the NFR Maine animal shelter in North Monmouth, in addition to being deaf, the pup suffered from seizures and canine parvovirus, a highly contagious viral illness.
In hopes of finding the pup a perfect home, the shelter made a Facebook post about the black Labrador mix. The good news is several people expressed interest in rescuing the pup. But when they were eventually contacted by Nick Abbott, staffers knew it was meant to be.
Nick, a 31-year-old, said he was particularly moved by Emerson's story since he is also deaf.
“Nick said he was interested in meeting Emerson because they would understand each other, being that they both share the same hearing difficulties,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “When Nick and his mom walked into the house to meet Emerson, Emerson made a direct line for Nick and sat at his feet.
“That’s all it took. I was sold that this was fate, and these two belonged to each other.”
Abbott and Emerson have now been living with each other for three months, and their relationship is melting hearts across social media. Abbott says that he has been teaching sign language to his canine companion so they can communicate with each other. Just one week after Emerson moved into his new home, Abbott said he already knew the sign for “sit”.
“Emerson learned sign language very quickly and it did not take long for him to understand. Good training is the key to a good dog,” Abbott told Pretty52. “So far Emerson knows how to sit, lay down, stay, come and we are currently working on shake.”
“This boy deserved nothing short of a fairy tale ending and that is EXACTLY what he got!!” wrote the shelter. “This will go down in history as one of my all time favorite adoptions stories.”