When a person is born deaf, most often they communicate through sign language. Unfortunately, dogs who are born deaf don’t have this way of communicating to fall back on. How would a dog who has never heard a bark even know where to begin?

A deaf rescue dog named Reggie was able to figure it out all on her own.

Born deaf

Deafness in dogs is not as uncommon as people might think. Just like humans, whether a dog is deaf or not mainly comes down to genetics, with certain breeds more apt to be born deaf. According to The Kennel Club:

“Deafness at birth (known as congenital deafness) is often inherited in some breeds. How this condition is inherited is not fully understood, but is believed to be controlled by many different genes, possibly with additional breed-specific risk factors.”

Believed to have been born deaf, Reggie doesn’t really think of herself as different. In fact, she is just like any other dog. And even though she had never heard a bark, that didn’t stop her from coming up with one of her own.

Figuring out how to bark

As to how Reggie came up with her bark, Kelly thinks she figured it out by watching other dogs. And while Reggie hardly ever makes a peep, she one day decided to try her bark out.

Reggie shows off her new bark to her owner

“It definitely took me a moment to realize what she was doing,” Kelly told The Dodo. “I thought it was a sneeze or cough at first. But when she continued doing it and looking at me as she did, I realized she was trying to communicate.”

People online fell in love with Reggie and her bark

Kelly caught Reggie’s first attempt at barking on video, which she posted to her TikTok.

People fell in love with Reggie and her determination to be like other dogs immediately, giving the video over 660,000 likes on the social media platform.

Reggie soon figured out that her barking was getting her extra attention. Soon, she was barking whenever she wanted something.

Barking to get what she wants

“She’s so proud of herself when she does it,” Kelly said. “Now, she usually does this bark when she’s trying to [get] our attention somehow. Sometimes, she’ll do it at the pantry door if she wants a treat. She’s usually able to get whatever she wants even with her fake barks.”

For Reggie, her bark has given her another way to communicate with her family. And while her bark is not exactly like other dogs, it does work for its intended purpose.

To hear Reggie’s adorable bark, check out the video below.

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Sources: TikTiok – lind_saymyname, The Dodo, The Kennel Club