Every dog has a purpose. Most become guardians of the home, while others went off to be service dogs, therapy dogs, and other noble jobs a pooch could be proud of having. But this particular canine had just given up on being any of those things as he stayed unadopted in a Florida-based shelter.
Ghost is a deaf pit bull who only wanted to belong to a family. But because of his condition, no one dared to adopt him. Thankfully, an animal rescue organization, Swamp Haven, came to his rescue. They transferred him to a new sanctuary where they keep other not-so-lucky dogs.
That was when Ghost’s life started turning right side up. Swamp Haven became the bridge between the pup and Olympic Peninsula Humane Society. During that time, the latter was launching their training for deaf dogs, so Ghost was just in time to join the program.
The first time Ghost and Barbara Davenport, a trainer at the org, met each other, Barbara was immediately smitten. She just knew that the pit bull would make an excellent addition to the Department of Corrections (DoC) as a drug detection K-9.
With the help of a colleague, Joe Henderson, the pup then learned to communicate with his handlers through specially-developed hand signals Joe created. The training was not a bed of roses every day, as Ghost was the very first deaf pup they trained.
But Ghost’s determination and interest in the job got him through the training, and soon enough, he was deemed the first deaf K-9 of Washington. Joe and Ghost even went on assignments in other state facilities, and the pup was happier than ever.
Ghost finally found his forever home in the DoC, and we could not help but commend the good boy. Congrats, Ghost!
Meet Ghost and his story here.
Courtesy of Wochit News
