A deaf dog showed off her sign language skills when she responded to a referee's hand signals on TV, going viral in the process.

Sara Ruth Zirm lives in Maryland with her pup Dory, a cross-breed she adopted from the Humane Rescue Alliance in January 2017 after doing research into caring for a deaf dog, and "immediately fell in love with her sweet face."

Zirm told Newsweek that Dory, now 10, "knows a fair amount of American Sign Language, and regular dog signals, like sit and lay down—as well as referee hand signals, apparently."

A video of Dory's unusual talent has gone viral on TikTok, racking up over 600,000 likes since being shared to Zirm's account @saraaaandipity on November 9.

It shows the dog staring "intently" at the television where an NFL game is playing, standing stock-still and barely blinking as the players rush past.

Until finally, the black-and-white stripes of the referee come on screen. And as he raises his arm and points to the right, Dory does exactly what he's indicated: she walks away, strolling to the right and off-camera.

Zirm wrote on the clip: "My deaf dog thinks the referee signs to her specifically. She's a really good dog."

She added in a caption: "Dory is deaf and I suspected recently that she was paying attention to the referee's hand signals as well but now I have actual proof of it on video. After she saw the hand signal she walked over to lay down on her bed."

The proud owner told Newsweek: "About a year ago, it became glaringly obvious she was consistently watching football and getting really into it: running away and pouncing on her favorite toy at different points and throwing it in the air and catching it. It definitely is an exciting game for her to watch."

TikTok users loved the unusual clip, with one writing: "She was so locked in, I'm crying."

"She's been ejected from the game for being the goodest girl ever," another said, while a third laughed: "She just sits there for him to kick her out."

One user demanded: "Show us more clips!" — and Zirm has duly obliged, with her TikTok channel filled with other videos of Dory intently watching TV and responding to signals.

The Animal Humane Society has plenty of advice for pet owners on caring for a deaf pet, including never letting a deaf dog off a leash in an unenclosed area. Deaf pets can still be easily trained, it said, using hand signals rather than speech commands.

Zirm had long noticed Dory was interested in sports on TV, but only recently "began to wonder if she was also watching the referee's hand signals."

"Next time I saw her focused on the game I decided to record, and kept on recording," she said, and captured the moment. "It looks as though she assumed he was pointing to her bed, so that's where she went to lay down!"

Zirm herself has several health issues, and praised Dory as helping her to "get outside and walk every day."

The sweet dog is a "constant companion," she told Newsweek — "as well as comedic relief."

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