DEVON pet charity Blue Cross is appealing for a new home for a deaf puppy, with owners who are willing to help her learn sign language.

Eleven-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier, Elsa, ended up at the Blue Cross rehoming centre near Tiverton after being found as a stray.

As Elsa was deaf and had received very little training in her young life, the team at the centre quickly had to get to work to teach her some sign language commands to help get her exuberant behaviour in check.

Jay Cruikshanks, rehoming centre manager for Blue Cross Tiverton, said: “We don’t know much about Elsa’s background or how she ended up as a stray – it’s possible she was unwanted because she is deaf.

"Hopefully her deafness won’t put off potential new owners - Elsa is super-enthusiastic and learning really quickly. She already knows the signs for sit and stay.”

Jay added: “It’s amazing what a difference our training has already made to Elsa’s behaviour, just being able to make sense of the world with the help of some hand signals has made her a lot calmer.

"She is going to make a wonderful pet and her new owners will have loads of fun learning how to sign with her.”

Although people may worry that deaf dogs could be difficult to train, they only have one of five senses missing and are able to learn all the behaviours that hearing dogs can.

While having previous experience with deaf dogs would be an advantage for Elsa’s new owners, the team at Blue Cross will also help with a training programme and advice on how to care for a dog with hearing loss.

As well as learning hand signals, pure white pup Elsa also loves going for walks and playing all the time and would like to find a happy new home, possibly with older children, but without cats.

If you think Elsa could be the dog for you or to find out more about her and the other pets looking for homes at Blue Cross Tiverton, visit www.bluecross.org.uk.