Werther,
the 18-month-old Lhasa Apso, is one of over 830 working hearing
dogs in the UK, and although he may not, strictly speaking,
be original, he is certainly one of only a handful to have
attained the much-coveted title of Hearing Dog of the Month
for April.
When he was two months old, Werther was donated to national
charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, by a breeder in Yorkshire.
He went to live with a volunteer socialiser for six months,
during which time he became a confident, friendly little dog
that loved meeting people. He also started showing an interest
in various household sounds – an excellent trait for
a would-be hearing dog.
Like all hearing dogs, Werther then embarked on four months’
soundwork training when he learned to alert to the specific
sounds required by his deaf recipient, Jeanette Joynson of
West London. These sounds include the doorbell, cooker timer,
call help, smoke alarm, fire bell and telephone, and when
he hears any of these sounds he is trained to find Jeanette
and scrabble at her with both paws until she asks “What
is it?” He will then lead her to the source of the sound,
unless it is a danger sound such as the smoke alarm or fire
bell, in which case he will alert Jeanette in the usual way
but then drop straight to the floor to indicate danger.
There is another sound to which Werther is trained to alert
his owner. No longer does Jeanette miss appointments and trains
because she has not heard the alarm clock – now she is
woken by Werther jumping on the bed and scrabbling at her
until she gets up!
Jeanette has a very busy life, and living in London as she
does she needed a hearing dog that could cope with noisy and
crowded situations. Werther has risen to this challenge perfectly,
and is a common sight, not only at Jeanette’s lip-reading
classes, but also in many of London’s busy shopping centres,
joining thousands of other seasoned commuters regularly travelling
on tubes and trains.
Another
of Werther’s claims to fame is his budding modelling
career. He features on the front cover of Hearing Dogs for
Deaf People’s catalogue, and has been photographed being
cuddled by EastEnders actress Pam St Clement! Perhaps Werther
is original after all...
About
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a registered charity that
selects and trains dogs to respond to specific sounds. Hearing
dogs alert deaf people by touch, using a paw to gain attention
and then lead them back to the sound source. For sounds such
as the smoke alarm and fire alarm the dogs will lay down to
indicate danger.
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People provides a national service and
no charge is made to recipients. Since its inception in 1982,
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has placed over 830 hearing dogs.
The Charity has three centres operating in the UK.
