Mom Mindy Cousineau told Fox News Digital that her son Walker (shown at left) wants everyone to consider pet adoption because older dogs and dogs with special needs "need love, too." (Photos: Mindy Cousineau) BENTLEY, Mich. - A Michigan teen with hearing loss who rescued a deaf dog from a shelter wants others to know the importance of pet adoption.
Walker Cousineau, 14, and his family adopted Dave, a 6-year-old pit bull mix, a little over a month ago. The pair have been "inseparable" since then, mom Mindy Cousineau of Bentley, Michigan, told Fox News Digital.2ND GRADERS WHITE HEARTFELT STORIES FROM SHELTER DOGS' PERSPECTIVES TO GET THEM ADOPTED"Walker wanted Dave because he knows that animals in the shelter [with] special needs are typically overlooked," Cousineau said. "He could be his buddy and know what he was going through — and understand," she said."I think Walker needed somebody, too," she added. "It worked out perfectly."Walker was not born with hearing loss.
When he was 10, however, doctors discovered he had a kidney disorder called Alport syndrome, which affected his hearing, Cousineau said.WOMAN FINDS HEARTBREAKING POEM WITH SHELTER DOG'S PAPERWORK: 'I COME WITH BAGGAGE'"And now his hearing is gradually going," she added. "He does not use a lot of sign language.
He lip reads and wears bilateral hearing aids, so they're helping."Cousineau said that at the end of July, Walker was browsing on Facebook when he came across a photo of Dave the dog.