Hearing Dogs plans 30th Anniversary

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, a world-leader and centre of excellence in training hearing dogs, will be holding a special event at Crufts 2012 as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations throughout next year.

The Charity was launched as a three-year pilot scheme at the show in 1982 and was started by co-founders veterinary surgeon Doctor Bruce Fogle (father of TV presenter Ben Fogle) and Lady (Beatrice) Wright of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

Now, 30 years on, the Charity has two Training Centres covering the UK. The Grange in Buckinghamshire and the Beatrice Wright Training Centre in Bielby, East Yorkshire, and is widely regarded as a leading expert in the training of hearing dogs by other assistance dogs charities around the world.

The Charity has successfully created more than 1,600 life-changing partnerships between hearing dogs and their deaf recipients, and at present there are around 750 working hearing dogs in the UK.

As well as a hearing dog’s practical soundwork assistance in alerting deaf people to important household sounds and danger signals such as the alarm clock, doorbell, telephone and smoke alarm in the home, at work and in public buildings – providing a life-changing level of independence, confidence and companionship, it has also become apparent that the therapeutic and companionship benefits are also extremely important.

Many hearing dog recipients will report that whereas once they avoided social interaction and feared leaving the relative safety of their home environment, now with their hearing dog by their side they are confident to get out into the world and enjoy meeting people.

The Charity will be announcing details of its planned celebrations at Crufts 2012 towards the end of this year, which will include a VIP anniversary reception amongst other activities.