24-05-2025
Being deaf doesn't stop these cute Pit bulls from serving as therapy dogs
Chris Hannah is one lucky man, according to his thousands of followers on social media.
He's the dog dad to four Pit bull mixes – Cole, CeCe, Alice and Sullivan – all of whom were born with disabilities.
All of them are deaf but Alice is also partially blind and has a cleft palate and Sullivan is completely blind.
Chris is a music teacher at a primary school in New Jersey in the US that caters to children with autism and other learning disabilities.
Instagram/@colethedeafdog
His journey as a dog dad began when he walked into an animal shelter in 2017 and four-month-old Cole stole his heart.
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A post shared by Cole The Deaf Dog and Christopher Hannah (@colethedeafdog)
When Chris said he'd adopt Cole that day, a man waiting at the shelter asked him, 'Why would you want a broken dog?'
It was this question that motivated Chris to show the world that 'it's okay to be different' and that 'a disability isn't an inability'.
Chris has a nephew who is deaf and as the two of them communicated in sign language, Cole soon began to understand and respond to sign too.
The teacher started taking his new four-legged pal to school with him so that the children could interact with Cole.
'He began changing lives immediately, sparking the most incredible conversations with my students as I watched their young hearts open with acceptance.'
'We began a mission of showing the world that a disability is not an inability and in Cole's case it became his superpower,' Chris says. 'It was never planned, it just happened, one incredible moment after another.'
Cole became a therapy dog, going to school every day to interact with learners through a unique social-emotional learning programme they created.
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A post shared by Cole The Deaf Dog and Christopher Hannah (@colethedeafdog)
'When students are interacting with Cole I truly believe that they feel like they have something or someone there to support them,' Chris says.
When Cole isn't at school he spends time with retired veterans, comforting them and going on walks and even accompanying them when they go ten pin bowling.
'What this little dog is able to do for these veterans is pretty powerful,' Chris says.
Cole has won many awards including, the ASPCA Dog of the Year 2023 and Hero Therapy Dog 2022, and has become a great example to CeCe, Alice and Sullivan who are all therapy dogs too.
Chris is aware of the labels that come with Pit bull breeds but says this is just another adversity that they have to overcome.
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The dog dad says this is 'a life I never could have imagined'.
'All of these pups were once considered underdogs but are now changing minds and opening hearts. I will never become numb to all the special moments that I am blessed enough to witness,' he says.
'I never believed in destiny until that day I first walked into that shelter and found my life path.'
