Blind And Deaf Rescue Dog Sniffs For Mom Every Single Day

Tamale looks forward to the end of every day. That's when the special needs dog gets to spend time with his favorite person in the whole world — his mom.

“He always gets super excited when I get home from work and will sniff around the house till he finds me,” Kayleigh Otstot, Tamale’s mom, told The Dodo. “He also does this with other people who come into the house. He is a people person.”

Due to being born blind and deaf, the double merle Australian shepherd-mix knows some places by memory, such as the local candy shop. This is where he gets pup cups, a small cup of whipped cream, from his favorite employees. But looking for Otstot takes a little more detective work by way of his nose.

You can watch Tamale searching for Otstot here:

Having been in Otstot’s care since she rescued him at 4 months, the now-3-year-old Tamale is like any other seeing and hearing dog — he just uses his other senses. He loves swimming, going on long walks and playing with his little dog brother, Kiwi.

“Having Tamale has changed my life,” Otstot said. “He has made me so much more outgoing because I love getting him out of the house to be more confident and social."

"A lot of people think having a special needs dog would slow you down or slow the dog down, [but] this is not the case with Tamale," she added. "Some people would never guess he was blind or deaf because of how well he gets around and how confident he is.”