Levi and Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas is a tenacious but soft-hearted FBI agent who moves from the Fingerprint Analysis Division to an elite surveillance team when her keen ability to read lips comes to the attention of one of the bureau's handsome agents.

Sue had been deaf since childhood but could speak naturally and read lips  a talent that helped her transition smoothly through her college years.

Sue's constant companion is a five-year old hearing-ear dog named Levi, a Golden Retriever (played by Jesse the dog).

Jesse was born outside of Toronto. His trainer is Bryan Renfro. Jesse has a brother named Hamish.

Previous to his gig with Sue Thomas, Jesse played the role of Homer the dog on Nickelodeon TV series ANIMORPHS based on the popular Scholastic books by K.A. Applegate.

TRIVIA NOTE: The series is based on a true story about the real Sue Thomas, deaf from the age of 18 months, who overcame significant obstacles to work for the F.B.I. and later as a motivational speaker and the author of the best selling autobiography, Lip Service. Born in Ohio, Sue Thomas also earned her degree in International Relations and has done post graduate work in Counseling.

The role of Sue Thomas was played by deaf actress Deanne Bray who was also an experienced lip reader. Severely deaf since birth, Bray was a veteran of Deaf West Theatre in California and had appeared in several films and television series.

Although she loves acting Bray was passionate about teaching. She taught science and math to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in East Los Angeles and established a literacy program -- the Little Bookworm Club.