After months of living in a crowded shelter, staff was doubtful that Gator, a deaf pit bull, would ever find a home.

Soon, the dog would be euthanized.

The all-white puppy with brown eyes was found wandering Florida state. Despite months of searching for a family, the shelter had decided to put him down.

Luckily, Swamp Haven Rescue, an organization specializing in “down on their luck dogs,” decided to step in. To match his chance at a new life, Gator also got a new name after checking into the shelter: Ghost.

Swamp Haven Rescue founder Lindsey Kelley told the media:

“Ghost, unfortunately, had a few strikes against him.”

“He had special needs, yes, but he’s also a Pit bull, and that was his real problem.”

She explained, “Shelters are so crowded with Pit bulls, and there are a lot of misconceptions about them. If he was a deaf, fluffy, little dog, he would have had a much better chance, but that wasn’t the case.”

Once Ghost got to the rescue, his personality really started to show.

He was loving, smart, full of energy, and totally obsessed with balls.

Seeing Ghost’s innate intelligence, Kelley thought he would benefit from specialized training so she contacted the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society in Washington state who were, at the time, developing a training program for deaf dogs.

Thanks to 48 volunteer drivers, Ghost was soon on his way to the facility.

It was at the Humane Society where Ghost caught the eye of Barbara Davenport, a narcotics canine trainer who has trained nearly 500 dogs over the course of her career. After a bit of observation, Davenport knew that Ghost would be the perfect narcotics K9.

“He has a lot of high energy, seems indifferent with people, is very focused and is determined to locate his ball when thrown or hidden.”

“This makes for a more trainable dog.”

Oddly, the very qualities that put Ghost on the shelter’s euthanization list were the very qualities that made him a great candidate for narcotics training. Davenport often picks Pit bulls because they’re highly trainable and show a commitment to the task at hand – but even Ghost’s deafness was sort of a plus:

“Ghost’s deafness removes a potential layer of distraction,” said Davenport. “Our dogs are excellent at focusing, but like humans, can be distracted with background or focused noises. Due to Ghost’s deafness, he has even more focus and fewer sensory distractions.”

After 240 hours of training, Ghost was officially sent to work with the Washington State Department Social and Health Services.

According to reports, Ghost is the very first deaf dog to work as a K9.

Ghost was paired with handler Joe Henderson and, together, the two developed a system of hand signals to replace verbal commands.

Despite having a rough go at life, Ghost’s journey attracted the attention of the media.

Ghost’s life is a real-life tale of a downtrodden dog who was sent for death, only to be saved and to make history as the first-ever deaf K9 dog.

Kelley, of Swamp Haven Rescue, reminds us: “Ghost is just one of the many dogs that was considered unadoptable.”

“We hope people see his story and understand how many great Pit bulls are in shelters, waiting for their chance.”

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Source: PetMD, TODAY, Washington State Department Social and Health Services