May 05 2011 07:48 AM
Re: Terry Collins' Questionable Assertion
Give Thole credit for teaching sign language to a deaf little dog.
| Mets catcher Josh Thole carries on signal role at home, teaching sign language to his deaf dog BY Nicholas Hirshon DAILY NEWS WRITER Thursday, May 5th 2011, 4:00 AM In the heat of a Mets game, catcher Josh Thole crouches behind home plate and flashes hand signals to pitchers. He uses similar gestures to call his dog. Thole, considered a cornerstone to the Amazin's rebuilding, has taught a deaf pooch named Picca - owned by he and his wife, Kathryn - to understand sign language. The 24-year-old backstop said his Maltese-poodle mix caught on pretty fast. "She knows sit, stay, that kind of stuff," Thole proudly told the Daily News. "She's an inside dog. She's very good. She really minds her own business." The Tholes bought Picca from an Oklahoma breeder in November 2009 as a companion for Kathryn on the Mets' long road trips. Kathryn didn't notice anything unusual about the dog when she picked her up at a Syracuse airport. She named the canine after "piccolo," the Italian word for "small." Two months later, the couple noticed the pooch was acting strange. "She wasn't responding to any of the calls we gave her," Thole said. "She would just ignore us." He took Picca to a veterinarian, who repeatedly blew on a whistle that emits a high-pitched sound only dogs can hear. Picca didn't react. Some pet owners who discover their dogs are deaf fear the difficulties in raising the animals and return them. Thole said that was never an option. "There was no giving her back," he said. Animal experts applauded Thole's decision to pore over sign language books and teach Picca. "He took some initiative. That's really awesome," said dog trainer Ursa Marr of the prestigious Denver Dumb Friends League animal welfare group. Victoria Wells, an expert on deaf dogs at the ASPCA, said Thole's system is actually more effective than verbal cues that many dog owners use with their pets. "We tend to use words too frequently," she said. "Dogs don't understand human language." When Thole wants Picca to sit, he puts his index finger and middle finger together, then cups it with his other hand. When he wants Picca to stay, he puts his hand up as if he's going for a high-five. The catcher said raising a deaf dog has advantages. Picca always gives him a workout when he visits with his in-laws in upstate Owego. "If I was to go up to get the mail or something, my dog would follow me and take off," he said. "I couldn't call her. I'd have to chase her." |
