1. You forget that any dog can hear. You start to see dogs as a furry class of beings that just don’t have the realm of sound. You startle when you coo “Come here, pup!” at someone else’s dog and it comes to you. Sometimes you forget that children can hear too.

2. You start doing the signs you do for your dog at your friends and at cashiers. People get a silent thumbs-up from you way more often than is acceptable.

3. When you wordlessly instruct your dog to pose for a picture in front of strangers, you hope that it appears you have a mystical, silent bond.

4. You have to chase rabbits in the yard with your dog, because you can’t just tell her to stop staring at them and poop already.

5. When she turns around and looks at you every time you enter a room, you wonder if it’s that she can smell you, feel the vibration of your steps or if she’s just eerily psychic.

6. People ask you if her bark is weird all the time. (Answer: no.)

7. Whenever people are mad at something your dog does, you can just be like, “Well she’s deaf, so … [scratches head]” and then they feel like dicks.

8. People ask a lot if she’s really deaf — have you had her tested? You feel like her blissful ignorance of the countless dogs ferociously growling at her behind fences on walks is proof enough.

9. You get to sleep like a baby and not worry about thunderstorms cuz your dog can snooze through anything.

–Becky Lang would definitely recommend getting a deaf dog.