We often hear of people getting service dogs for various reasons, but what about dogs themselves?
Poppet, a deaf Dalmatian who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her dog parents, has her very own service dog – Poppy.
“Never Planned” for Service Dog
Dog parents Kaylee and David Hughes found that Poppet was deaf when she was just six weeks old, and trained her using both sign language and hand signals. However, Poppet was timid and nervous, so her parents were concerned about her quality of life.
But then, they brought Poppy home. “We never planned to get Poppy as a service dog for Poppet,” explained Kaylee to Metro, “But it certainly seems like Poppet uses her sister for her ears”.
They don’t know whether Poppet is aware that she’s deaf. However, they say she understands that Poppy has a sense that Poppet doesn’t, and so will rely on her at times. And since they first met, the pair of pups have been inseparable.
“Poppet uses Poppy for everything,” said Kaylee, “If Poppy barks, she will bark. If Poppy runs off on a walk, she will follow. She’ll always look to Poppy to see what she is doing and copy her”. Poppy will even find Poppet when it’s time for bed, and nudge her to sleep.
“When it comes to how they act with each other, Poppy is super patient with Poppet which is lovely to see”, Kaylee adds.
A Two-Way Street
Poppy has given Poppet more confidence too. The canine will now happily go into the river and play, something that she used to feel more nervous about. And at the same time, the deaf Dalmatian has helped Poppy become calmer.
“Poppet was a dream to train, but Poppy is the free spirit of the pair and doesn’t really like being told what to do,” said Kaylee. “Poppy is definitely the rebel of the pair, so we’ve had to be a lot more patient whilst teaching her simple commands”
“But now when we give Poppy a command, Poppet will usually mimic what she does”.
