A Puppy Was Born Deaf. Then, Two Hearing Specialists Took Her In and Changed Her Life (Exclusive)

Pips, a blue heeler from West Virginia, found a new home with Dr. Michael Squires and his wife Dr. Carlee Squires, who are both audiologists

NEED TO KNOW

• Audiologists Michael and Carlee Squires adopted Pips, a deaf blue heeler, without initially knowing about her hearing loss
• The couple used their expertise in hearing and balance to train Pips with visual commands and adapt their communication methods for her needs
• Michael hopes to raise awareness about adopting and supporting dogs with disabilities, emphasizing their ability to thrive with care

A small blue heeler named Pips was born the runt of her litter in West Virginia. A couple who both work as audiologists adopted her, not knowing at first that she was deaf, and helped her learn sign commands.

Dr. Michael Squires and his wife, Dr. Carlee Squires, own and operate Audiology Services of West Virginia Hearing and Balance Center in Parkersburg, W.Va. The couple jumped at the chance to adopt Pips and her sister Ruth and were eager for the dogs to join their family, not knowing they would soon face one of the most intriguing cases of their careers as hearing specialists.

“The funny thing is, we had no idea she was deaf when we adopted her,” Michael tells PEOPLE exclusively of the little blue heeler, who has white, black, and brown speckled fur. “Pips was the runt of the litter, so naturally our daughters were drawn to her immediately. She was tiny and very cute.”

The doctors tell PEOPLE that deaf children and deaf pets share several medical similarities.

“As with small children, there is not much ‘listening’ happening with puppies early on,” Michael shares. “They are still learning commands, and even responding to their name is a challenge.”

The audiologist says he and his wife, Carlee, “could tell early on that something was different” with Pips.

“Pips was not as vocal as her sister, Ruth,” Michael explains. “She did not bark unless she was startled. When she barked, we noticed her bark sounded different than Ruth’s. Of course, she was smaller — but it was a different sound, not necessarily just a higher pitch.”

Michael, who spent time learning to communicate with the deaf community as a child before pursuing a career in the medical field, recalled his aunt’s work with deaf children as an educator at a camp program and how it inspired his work with Pips.

“Drawing from those experiences, and that of being an audiologist, I understand that when more hearing loss is present, vocalizations can sound different,” Michael says. “It makes sense; when you can’t hear the production of sound, it is hard to self-monitor.”

Beyond her unique bark, Pips got Michael and Carlee’s attention by responding differently to sounds than her sister Ruth.

“I distinctly remember a warm evening when we were getting ready to bring everyone in for bed,” Michael shares. “At the time we had three dogs (we now have four) and I went outside and called for them from the garage. All of the dogs came in except for Pips, who was asleep in the driveway.”

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Michael says he “yelled, clapped, whistled,” but she “never flinched.”

This moment inspired the couple to research how best to support a deaf dog. Michael says the couple previously owned a blind dog and were well acquainted with the “patience” required to train and support a dog living with a disability. Through his research, Michael found that roughly 10 percent of blue heelers are affected by hearing loss.

“In utero, the kidneys and the auditory system form at the same time,” Carlee explains. “So often, kidney issues and hearing issues go hand in hand.”

“Once we realized that Pips was deaf, we accepted that we would have to readjust how we approach communicating with her — which shouldn’t be difficult because it is how we counsel patients and families about communicating with their loved ones with hearing impairments,” Michael says of Pips’ training.

The family learned to communicate with Pips by “flipping lights on and off if she is across the room, waving at her to get her attention to give her a hand-command, and sometimes just simply touching her when she is focused on something else.”

Michael says that the biggest similarity he has observed between his human deaf patients and Pips is “sensitivity to visual stimulation.”

“In humans, there is a difference in impact between some hearing loss and no usable hearing/deaf,” he adds. “With Pips, we believe that she is completely deaf and therefore relies on her other senses to get information about her world.”

The audiologist said that his family tries to remain mindful of touching her without startling her, especially when she is asleep.

“We try to gently touch a back paw or nudge the chair on which she is sleeping,” Michael notes. “Once she is awake, she is ready to go, but it takes her a minute to figure out her surroundings.”

The family sent both Pips and Ruth to obedience training with a family friend and professional dog trainer, where Pips began learning sign commands.

“With training a deaf dog, you just replace verbal commands with visual commands,” Michael says. “She has a remote collar that vibrates. The vibration signals, ‘Look at me.’ Once we can get eye contact with Pips, she is very responsive to commands such as ‘come,’ ‘sit, and ‘place.”

Pips continues to have a lot of energy and enjoys interacting with her sister and her surroundings while adapting to them as a deaf dog.

“She can play fetch for hours, and our kids love to go out and throw a ball for her in the yard,” the owner shares. “We have many great memories with Pips. She is a lively little heeler with a ton of energy. We live on almost 80 acres, and she hikes the whole place right there with the rest of our dogs.”

Michael plans to keep advocating for deaf dogs to help them find forever homes.

“There are many dogs out there who are deaf, blind, or have other disabilities who deserve a chance to be loved,” Michael concludes. “However, that change comes with responsibility for the owner (and some extra work). But ultimately, they are the best dogs, and we should love them all the same.”

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