This was in the AJC today. Long story, but very sweet.
Man forges bond beyond words: Deaf pet's love speaks volumes
By Keri Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/21/07
One of them weighs 195 pounds, walks on four legs and can't hear. The other has only one hand and communicates with sign language. And whenever they go to Piedmont Park, they draw a crowd.
Jeremy Coty and his dog Connor can be found three or four days a week at the Piedmont Dog Park, along with Coty's other two dogs. And everyone in the off-leash area seems to gravitate to the outgoing guy and his enormous dog. We're talking really big. On his hind legs, Connor stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall.
During one recent visit to the park, Matt Cole, 13, was interested in the size of other things.
"Wow, that's big poop!"
"Yeah, a lot of people wonder about that," Coty laughed.
When a Latino family cautiously approached, Coty told them in Spanish that Connor is friendly.
Asked if he's fluent, Coty replies, "Nah, I fake it."
Coty's not fluent in American Sign Language either, but he knows enough to communicate with his dog.
Connor is deaf and responds to about 10 signed words and commands. When he's a good boy, Coty rubs his chest or claps. When Coty wants the dog's attention, he shapes his hand like a "C" for "Connor." When Connor gets too aggressive in a game of tug of war, Coty shakes two fingers back and forth and Connor backs away.
Coty and Connor share a special bond because they have a couple things in common. For one, Coty joked, they're both Aries. For another, they both have a disability.
Coty, 36, was born with a defect that left him with what he calls a "little arm" that has no fingers.
As for Connor, "if he was born with his hearing, he likely lost it during the first week of his life, so he doesn't have recollection of it," said Coty. "I'm the same.
"I've always gravitated toward people and animals who don't fit the mold of what we view as 'normal'," he said.
Eager to put others at ease about his disability, Coty is quick to bring it up and encourages curiosity.
"Ask me anything," he said.
As a child, he was teased for being the "kid with one-and-a-half arms." But by the time he got to high school, everything changed. He'd grown comfortable with his "little arm," and so had his schoolmates. He was crowned homecoming king and man of the year his senior year at St. Benedict High School in Chicago.
"Everyone walks around with something that they're uncomfortable with inside or out," said Coty. "Most of us can hide that, but one of my handicaps is my physical difference. I can't hide it."
Perhaps that's why Coty finds it easier to be around dogs than humans. Whatever the reason, he believes that caring for them is a moral obligation.
"None of us really owns them," Coty said. "We're their caretakers. They're precious and innocent, and they depend on us so much."
Coty had considered going to vet school, but decided performing surgery would be too difficult. Instead, he runs a small pet care business out of his home.
Coty's favorite client is a three-legged dog named Bob, who he affectionately calls "Tripod Bob."
"I can just imagine what people think when they see me, deaf Connor and Tripod Bob at the park," Coty said. "What a hoot."