(WSVN) - A deaf rescue dog is winning over the internet due to his understanding of American Sign Language.
PeeWee isn’t just a good boy; he’s a smart boy, and his impressive skills has led to a brush with fame on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Nikki Engleman initially fostered PeeWee after he was found wandering the streets in Minnesota.
“I knew that he had come into the rescue as a stray. He was actually in Indianapolis,” she said.
But it didn’t take long before Engleman made the mixed terrier bull a permanent member of the family.
“We just fell right in love. He got along really well with our dog, Zoe,” she said.
Not long after that, Engleman realized PeeWee not only knew some American Sign Language but was a good student as well.
In a video, Engleman is seen signing the word “ball.” PeeWee immediately retrieves the ball.
“He came to us and he knew ‘sit’ at that point. I want to se say he knew ‘eat’ as well, but we worked with him on learning ‘potty,’ ‘water,’ ‘treats,’ ‘ball,’ all of those signs,” she said. “He loves to learn, I think, so anytime we’re trying to teach him something new, he catches on very quickly.”
An intelligent dog who knows sign language and can pick up new words quick? It was clear that sharing his skills on social media was the logical next step.
The rest is internet history. PeeWee is a TikTok sensation at 11 years old, with more than 173,000 followers and climbing.
Engleman is seeing firsthand the power of social media. While it’s fun to see PeeWee in action, she hopes she can help others strengthen their communication if they, too, have a deaf dog.
“I feel like it’s such a good learning platform. I mean, it’s fun for the funny videos and just kind of the downtime of watching, but it’s also super cool to be able to show people what he’s capable of or what you are capable of doing with your deaf dog,” she said.
PeeWee knows 15 words in ASL, and as more and more people get to know about him, his owners continue to expand their platform. They recently started a YouTube page aiming to show people how to work with a deaf animal.
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