Katie Leclerc beams on the pink carpet at Variety‘s 2011 Power Of Youth event presented by The Hub held at Paramount Studios on Saturday afternoon (October 22) in Hollywood.

The 24-year-old Switched at Birth star chatted it up with JJJ on the press line and told us something that no one else does — her new pup, Gus, is deaf!

“We found out after I actually got him,” Katie told us exclusively. “We were clapping our hands and trying to get him to wake up when he was sleeping and he wasn’t waking up. Now, we’re actually teaching him sign language to do all these things. He can sit really well.”

Katie added, “I love that dog so much. He’s so precious.”

Katie is also pictured inside at the 2011 Media Access Awards held at At The Beverly Hilton Hotel earlier this month. She presented an award to SAB exec producer Paul Stupin.

15+ pics inside of Katie Leclerc…