Her parents thought that four-year-old Rose Willcocks was mute because of an extremely unusual genetic condition. But they were surprised to find out that Rose indeed can talk - but only to animals!
Here's an interesting story about the little girl - nicknamed Miss Doolittle after the storybook doctor that can talk to animals:
Rose has a chromosome defect which has left her with a floppy voicebox and windpipe. She also has learning difficulties and autism. [...]
"We went to see the cows," Mrs Willcocks said. "Suddenly, Rose perked up. I did a double-take as I struggled to take in what I was hearing. She wasn't actually saying words but there were no two ways about it - she was talking to a cow."
"There was something about animals that made Rosie connect. We could barely get her to make eye contact or moan or groan but here she was, chatting like an old friend to the cows and horses."
Some therapy dogs are "reading dogs" now - they go to libraries and schools so the kids will read out loud to them. These are kids who won't talk to or read to an adult, but they love reading to the dogs.
Autistic kids often benefit from having a pet or visiting with a therapy animal and are brought out of their shyness by the animal.
I hope they will get this little girl a pet of her own to talk to.