Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/poppet-deaf-dalmatian/

Meet Poppet and Poppy, a deaf dalmatian and her service dog sister.

The two live in Edinburgh, Scotland with their parents, 33-year-old Kaylee Hughes and 37-year-old David Hughes, and share about their life on Instagram:

When Kaylee and David first welcomed Poppet into their home, they knew she was deaf. They picked her out at just 2 weeks old and by 6 weeks, they realized that she was deaf.

Because they recognized her disability at such a young age, they were able to teach her sign language and hand signals to communicate and Poppet caught on quickly.

According to the Edinburgh News, Kaylee explained: “Around 30% of dalmatians are born with some kind of hearing problem, it’s genetic, so there is a breed-specific test they get at six weeks old – Poppet was fully deaf, couldn’t hear anything at all.”

She added, “Poppet is ​incredible. She has overcome a lot in her short life and, despite it all, is still so happy and funny. She’s just a joy to be around.”

Using sign language, they were able to accommodate Poppet and make their home and life fit her needs. However, there are still challenges she faces because of her hearing (or lack thereof). For instance, Poppet was hit by car while crossing the street because she couldn’t hear it coming. It was a scary situation, but the sweet pup recovered after a week in the hospital and some surgeries.

When Kaylee and David decided to welcome a second dalmatian puppy into their home, they weren’t quite sure how Poppet would react to the new dog. According to Edinburgh News, though, Poppet not only welcomed the new puppy, Poppy, into the home but she fell in love with her!

The two became instant best friends and Poppy even learned to act as a service dog of sorts for Poppet.

Kaylee said, “When we got Poppy I was slightly worried about introducing them but in the first five minutes they were best friends. Poppet looks for her, cuddles into her, sleeps beside her. She is obsessed with Poppy…”

According to The Metro, Poppy has brought back a lot of life to Poppet. Kalyee said: “Poppet uses Poppy for everything, 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’s she is doing and copy her.”

Poppet may know realize that she’s deaf and Poppy can hear, but she senses a difference between them and seems to know that Poppy is someone she can rely on. It’s so sweet that Poppy is there for her big sister!

You can keep up with Poppet and Poppy on Instagram, @poppet.thedeaf.dalmatian.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog