Hazel Learns to Listen With Her Eyes

The breeder said it plainly: Hazel was deaf. She said some people choose not to take a puppy like that, and she would understand. We took one look at her spotted face and said we would think about it, which was a lie. We had already decided.

Training a deaf puppy is different, but not harder. We learned a handful of hand signals: sit, down, come, good. We used a flashlight to get her attention at night, and we learned to stomp lightly on the floor so she could feel us coming.

Hazel watches us constantly. She looks up from her toys and checks in with a glance, like a tiny conductor waiting for a cue. She is, hands down, the most attentive dog I have ever known.

We have a few house rules. We never startle her. We keep her on a leash or in a fenced yard, because she cannot hear a car. A vibrating collar is a tool we use only as our trainer showed us.

At eight months, Hazel graduated from her class with the best attention score of the group. I cried in the parking lot.