Hearing Dogs Awareness Week: 6th-12th June 2010
Source: Hearingdogs
The Hearing Dogs awareness week is being held this year between the 6th and 12th June to highlight the fantastic work that Hearing Dogs for deaf people do in the UK.
The charity 'Hearing Dogs for Deaf People' was launched in 1982 and in the past 28 years has helped to train and place nearly 1600 dogs to help deaf people in their daily lives. Their mission is to 'offer greater independence, confidence and security to deaf people by providing dogs trained to alert them to chosen everyday sounds'. Nearly 9 million people in the UK suffer from some level of hearing loss, something which can be devastating. However, these wonderful dogs are helping deaf people at work and at home to do things that hearing people take for granted. This can be anything from alerting their owners that the phone is ringing or someone at the door to babies crying and smoke alarms. Hearing dogs are registered assistance dogs and, as such, are allowed in public places. You can spot them by their burgundy jackets.
At present there are approximately 850 partnerships between hearing dogs and their deaf owners working across the UK today. The dogs are very often selected for training from rescue centres and can be anything from the scruffiest mongrel to a pedigree pooch. Their extensive training enables them to lead happy, fulfilling lives in a new loving home, giving them a new lease of life. There are currently around 150 dogs and puppies undergoing 4 months of training at any one time. However, some of the dogs do not make the grade in training and the charity is always looking for new homes for these dogs. If you are interested then please check out this link.
Hearing Dogs week helps to highlight the Hearing Dogs charity, raise funds for dog training and raise awareness of the wonderful work that these dogs do and the freedom they bring to deaf people. There are events across the country, including a large summer fair which this year will be held on Sunday 6th June at the charity headquarters in Saunderton between 11am and 5pm. It is being opened by Joel Defries from Blue Peter and there will be demonstrations from deaf dogs, a flyball competition, a heat of Scrufts and lots of stall to look at. In addition to this main event, there are also over 50 Paws for Coffee events held throughout the UK to raise funds too. Currently, there are over 50 coffee mornings being held throughout the UK to support the week.
If you would like to run your own Paws for Coffee event then click here for more details. Hearing Dogs will send you a free information pack on how to organise an event including posters, invites and recipes for Springer Spaniel Sponge and Flapjack Russells! Sounds yummy and a great way to raise funds for this wonderful charity.
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Comments (1)
Kelly Ann T. June 12, 2010 9:18 PM
FlagA friend of mine owns a hearing dog and it has made a world of difference in her self confidence and independance. I have seen the difference these hard working dogs make in the life of a deaf person. I will be on the lookout for an event in my city. Thank you so much for showcasing these great dogs and the incredible work that they do. If there is not an event in my area, I will see if the volunteer group I'm with is interested in hosting an event.
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