Man's Way of Telling Deaf Rescue It's Time for Walk Leaves Viewers in Tears

Newsweek

04-07-2025

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Trying to communicate with a deaf dog can have its challenges, but one couple have found a way by teaching their rescue pup his own version of sign language.
Skye and Daniel Tibbetts rescued Bruno in 2022, after a charity transported him from a shelter in Spain to the U.K. While there's no way of knowing what he previously endured, Skye, 27, tells Newsweek that his "life was at risk" in the shelter.
His owners can't be sure if he was born deaf or if it developed by the time they adopted him at 18 months old. Although Skye explained that he had "a pretty nasty ear infection" when they picked him up, which makes her wonder if that was related.
"We've tried clapping, whistling, and even speaking Spanish to see if he can hear anything—no luck yet," Skye said. "This makes it easier on Bonfire night, though, because he doesn't react to any of the noises."
Daniel Tibbetts with his deaf dog Bruno, showing him the signal for 'walk'.
Daniel Tibbetts with his deaf dog Bruno, showing him the signal for 'walk'.
@brunothedogface / TikTok
In the years since adopting Bruno, Skye and Daniel have had to get creative with how they communicate. Indeed, they've even managed to teach Bruno their very own sign language to alert him when it's time for a walk, to give paw, and another one for stay.
Some of the hand signals work better than others, but the one for "walk" never seems to fail.
"We've got quite a few signals, including stay, roll over, paw shake, twist, and he'll even do a dramatic drop for one sign which is absolutely adorable. Bruno's quite a clever boy when he wants to be," Skye said.
"Walkies works every time, but other signs can be treat-dependent. He's good at looking away to ignore you if he doesn't want to do something. We let Bruno know we're going for a walk by putting a hand out and walking our fingers over the palm."
Both of Daniel's parents are deaf, so Skye says this version of sign language for Bruno came naturally to him. They felt that it "just made sense" to teach Bruno, and it was remarkable how quickly he picked it up.
For the most part, Bruno doesn't let being deaf hold him back. There are adjustments that his owners have to make of course, but he's just like any other good boy.
Skye continued: "The only thing it really impacts is his ability to go off the lead because we obviously can't call him back. If we're on a walk, he can get distracted and just keep walking. He sticks with us around the house, so we don't have to worry about opening the front door or things like that."
A video showing how the owners communicate with hand signals was shared on Bruno's dedicated TikTok account (@brunothedogface) and the clip went viral. In just a matter of days, the video has gained over 445,800 views and more than 79,700 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
The clip shows Daniel doing the signal for "walk" with his hands, before Bruno instantly starts barking and jumping around with excitement.
Skye has been blown away by the online reaction to the video, as she joked that Bruno has the personality to become "a dogfluencer." By sharing videos of him online, she hopes to show that deaf dogs can still have very joyful and fulfilling lives, and they deserve a forever home.
She told Newsweek: "Deaf dogs are far less likely to be adopted, maybe because people think they're limited. Part of our mission is to start bringing in some funds so that Bruno can pledge for other deaf dogs to encourage them to get adopted. That's the long-term goal, but for now, we will keep posting to show just how much they deserve to be adopted."
Social media users have praised the couple for teaching Bruno hand signals, leading to more than 270 comments on the TikTok post so far.
One comment reads: "Aw this is the cutest thing ever, the way he understands, and you made him understand."
Another TikTok user wrote: "This is the cutest thing I've ever seen."
While another person replied: "I just burst out crying. The way I just know he has the best life with you."
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