Nobody wanted to adopt this Pit Bull because he never listened to any command — until a foster parent discovered his silent struggle

Many rescue dogs face challenges finding forever homes, but some face even more hurdles. Acorn, a white Pit Bull, was one of those dogs. He struggled to be adopted due to both his breed and his behavior. However, what people first saw as troublemaking turned out to be much more. Acorn had a unique story that would not only change his life but also help other misunderstood dogs like him. While taking care of Acorn, one foster parent discovered the real reason behind his disruptive behavior. 

As reported by I Heart Dogs, Acorn's journey began when he was found wandering the streets and taken in by Cleveland Animal Care and Control (City Dogs Cleveland). As an American Staffordshire Terrier, Acorn already faced long odds. His breed often faces stereotypes that make adoption difficult. But Acorn had additional struggles. He didn't handle shelter life well and quickly became one of the biggest troublemakers at the organization. His antics included picking up his water bowl and swinging it at people and banging it against the kennel walls. “He would wait for someone to walk by and he would pick it up and swing the water on them,” said Mary Motley, a longtime volunteer at the shelter.

Acorn's behavior grew more disruptive, so staff asked Motley to foster him for a night to give the shelter a break. Initially excited, Motley soon became frustrated as Acorn acted out at home, chewing everything in sight, including a seatbelt and comforter. “I’m trying to catch him, and I can’t catch him, and he won’t stop, no matter what. I yell at him, he won’t stop,” Motley recalled. Exhausted, she was ready to return him. "I’m thinking, ‘You’re going back to the kennel at 8 o’clock in the morning because I can’t deal with this.'" The next morning, when she let Acorn out of his crate, she noticed he didn’t react to her voice or movements.

He didn’t acknowledge her until she touched his shoulder, and that’s when it clicked that Acorn couldn’t hear. Motley took Acorn to the vet, where it was confirmed that he was deaf, completely shifting her perspective on the dog. What seemed like defiant behavior was actually Acorn’s way of coping with his inability to hear commands. Understanding this, Motley worked with dog trainer Carol Peter to train Acorn using hand signals. "A deaf dog is really not very different than a hearing dog. You just talk with your hands instead of your mouth," Motley said.

With consistent training, Acorn learned over 30 hand signs, and his behavior improved dramatically. Through this experience, Acorn became a powerful advocate for deaf dogs, showing that they, too, deserve a chance at a happy life. After adopting Acorn, Motley created "The Acorn Project," a toolkit to help train deaf dogs and increase their adoption chances. Acorn even has his own book, Deafinitely Awesome: The Story of Acorn, inspiring people to adopt dogs that might otherwise be overlooked. "I’d say 50 dogs had been adopted because people will write me all the time and say, ‘I adopted my own Acorn,'" Motley shared. Follow his dedicated Facebook page for the latest updates on Acorn.