Hearing-impaired family adopts deaf puppies in Texas

SMITH COUNTY – A hearing-impaired woman from outside of Texas adopted two puppies from the Smith County Animal Shelter that she and her family share a special connection with. according to our news partner KETK.

In June, the animal shelter rescued two three-month-old puppies, Anjali and Amiya, who were found abandoned on County Road 1142. After rescuing the puppies, it became apparent that both dogs were deaf.

Within days of saving the dogs, the shelter posted pictures of them on Deaf Dogs Rock, a website that showcases deaf dogs available for adoption. Nozomi Tomita, who lives in Massachusetts, viewed the dogs online and felt an instant connection, as she and her family are deaf.

Due to the shelter being unable to transport the dogs out of the state, Tomita traveled to Smith County to adopt the puppies. Several East Texas organizations helped make Tomita’s trip as seamless as possible, including Pawsitive Place Rescue, which assisted Tomita with travel arrangements to and from Massachusetts. Additionally, a member of the Tyler Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center volunteered to serve as an interpreter for Tomita during her stay.

On Tuesday, Tomita was finally able to meet and adopt Anjali and Amiya from the shelter and stated she would teach the puppies American Sign Language, along with some Japanese Sign Language.

“We would like to thank Nozomi Tomita and her family for adopting Amiya and Anjali and for making such a journey for these girls to go to their forever home,” Smith County Animal Shelter said. “We would also like to thank Pawsitive Place Rescue, who helped make this adoption a reality for this family and for working with us to help not only these girls but multiple dogs from our shelter find their furever homes.”