Deaf Pit Bull Who Was 'Born To' Be A Therapy Dog Spreads Joy To Everyone He Meets

Pit bulls are frequently maligned. As a "bully breed" of dog, the pit bull is often mistakenly labeled as vicious, violent, and dangerous to children. But a deaf therapy dog named Cole is the opposite of that horrifying depiction. An uplifting video that's been viewed more than 159,000 times on YouTube shows Cole spreading joy to people of all ages, from elementary school students to senior citizens. "I honestly in my heart believe Cole knows that he was born to do this job," Cole's owner, Chris Hannah, told The Dodo.

Hannah is the music teacher at Dr. William Mennies Elementary School in New Jersey and the founder of Cole the Deaf Dog and Friends Foundation. He outlined the plucky pooch's busy schedule: "Five days a week, Cole is a full-time therapy dog in an elementary school." A few days a week, after school lets out, Cole visits local hospice patients. Once a week and on holidays, Cole visits a veterans' home. "Then we do the traveling school programs where we talk about acceptance and disability awareness."

Viewers fell in love with the precious pit bull. "Cole is amazing and adorable!" one gushed, and another wrote, "The goodest good boy. ❤" One person shared, "I absolutely LOOOOVE how making so many people happy makes this incredible dog so happy." Countless netizens described Cole as an angel, and several took the time to also praise Hannah's good deeds. One person commented, "Bless this gentleman for sharing his angel with so many needy people."

Cole is clearly adored by everyone he interacts with. In fact, another heartwarming video shows this deaf therapy dog getting treated like a king at a birthday party thrown by students. (Spoiler alert: You'll be hard-pressed not to tear up when the children and school staff all sing and sign "Happy Birthday" to Cole, who wears a shiny gold crown befitting royalty.) But there are challenges to living with a deaf pet.

Dogs like Cole can't hear traffic noise and other hazards, so it's dangerous to allow them off-leash in unfenced areas. They may have problems socializing with other dogs, since they can't hear yips and warning growls. Deaf animals can startle easily, so they need to be approached carefully and woken up gently. The owner of a deaf dog must learn how to communicate with the animal using hand signals for basic commands such as come, sit, stay, down, and no. It's a good idea for the dog to wear a tag on its collar stating that the animal is deaf.

Cole's owner points out that within the context of a noisy elementary school, there is one definite advantage to the dog's deafness. "He can have 100% of his focus where he wants it at any given moment," Hannah told The Dodo. Viewers loved this part of the video. "Watching him sleep next to dancing kids was hilarious!" one wrote, while another cheekily observed, "'He can have his focus right where he wants it'. Cut to Cole napping. 😂😍❤️🥰"