DEAF DOG LEARNS SIGN LANGUAGE

The collie had been born on a farm, but his deafness made him useless as a working dog. Margaret Jones and her housemate took him in after she read he would be put down.

"Being retired teachers of deaf children," she said, "we thought that if we could teach youngsters sign language we could use our skills to help Sam."

Sam learned basic signals like "sit" and "no" within a few days. Three weeks later, Sam could understand 10 signs, including instructions to play, eat and greet.