Hero Hounds
We are proud to present the top dogs from our 'Hero Hound' contest!
All 1300 of the hearing dogs we have trained and placed with deaf people in our first quarter of a century have been life-changing companions and heroes in their own right. The idea behind Hero Hounds was to raise awareness among the general public about hearing dogs and the wonderful work they do. With more than 13,000 votes cast and masses of coverage in local, regional and national print and broadcast media - we are delighted that word of Hearing Dogs' work has spread far and wide thanks to these amazing canine companions!
1st place with 2335 votes (20%)
Name: Regan (4)
Breed: Crossbreed
Recipient: Elizabeth Hadden (83)
Location: Leven, Fife
As well as alerting her deaf owner Elizabeth Regan used her initiative and her training to avert a possible tragedy when she was out walking with her deaf owner Elizabeth.
“To testify to Regan’s obedience and skill would be so easy – simply everyone who knows her marvels at her ability. She does everything that she was trained to do and I am privileged to have her as my companion. However, no amount of training can be congratulated for the natural instincts she possesses which, combined with this instruction, amounted to a near miracle which saved me from severe debility and possible tragedy."
2nd place with 1587 votes (14%)
Name: Guinness (5)
Breed: Mongrel
Recipient: Linda Bate (56)
Location: Llanelli, Dyfed
Linda says: “My life changed several years ago when a virus played havoc with my hearing. I was literally deafened overnight. I tried to live “normally” for a couple of years, then realised the goalposts had been moved forever. Depression landed with a thump; I couldn’t cope with noise, use a conventional telephone or engage in a conversation. End of working life, end of life? Friends searched the web; deafness was new to them too, looking for things to help me. Hearing Dogs came up on the screen; I applied and was accepted.”
Then handsome mongrel Guinness, born to a rescued stray mongrel at Hearing Dogs’ headquarters, came into Linda’s life…
3rd place with 1463 votes (13%)
Name: Noah (4)
Breed: Crossbreed
Recipient: Elizabeth Ward
Location: Northern Ireland
Noah is a handsome crossbreed that has been a faithful companion and assistant to Elizabeth before, during and following her husband’s death. He accompanies Elizabeth to her work as a Hearing Therapist where the patients adore him! Elizabeth explains:
“When I was introduced to Noah it was love at first sight. His big brown eyes looked up at me so trustingly and it was the start of a sterling partnership.
Sadly my husband died almost two years ago from cancer. At that time there was a great deal of ‘call mum’ (involving my husband calling Noah so that he could fetch me). My husband adored Noah. Noah visited him frequently whilst he was in hospital. After my husband’s death, Noah lay at the top of the stairs for three weeks, presumably waiting for him.”
4th place with 1248 votes (11%)
Name: Garry (3)
Breed: Golden retriever
Recipient: Brian Wallis (58)
Location: Chinnor, Oxfordshire
“When I lost my hearing I found life very frustrating and felt like I was in a black hole where I was getting deeper and deeper into the dark. I stopped going out and started to find it increasingly hard to communicate with people. When friends and family came I would close my eyes and pretend to be asleep, as the thought of trying to talk to people was unbearable. At the doctors, or the hospital, I couldn’t hear when I was being called and so would miss my turn. It just felt like I went from being somebody to nobody, because I couldn’t hear people they just started to ignore me and so I guess I began to do the same. There is no greater pain than being in a room full of people but being alone. It was like living in a box.”
That’s how Brian Wallis described his deafness before pet dog Garry was trained as a hearing dog to help him.
