Boxing legend Frank Bruno proved to be a real knockout as he officially opened Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’s annual Summer Show event on Sunday (5th June) at the Charity’s Buckinghamshire headquarters.
The former world heavyweight champion took time out from his busy schedule to meet some of the event’s several thousand visitors. Frank (49) took a particular shine to one of the charity’s hearing dogs, Bertie.
The Summer Show also marked the start of Hearing Dogs Week – a special awareness week for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People - which runs between Monday 6th and Friday 10th June.
Frank said: “It was a pleasure to be invited along to the Summer Show and great to meet so many wonderful people ahead of Hearing Dogs Week.”
To tie in with Hearing Dogs Week, the Charity is for the first-time ever asking the British public to nominate their favourite hearing dogs ahead of the 2011 Hearing Dog of the Year Awards, which take place in Central London in October.
The public can nominate hearing dogs that they know, perhaps through family, friends or work colleagues, for one of three special awards; Life-changing, Heroic or the newly-created Team/Dual-purpose Hearing Dog of the Year award for dogs who either work with children or with people with additional disabilities such as dual-trained hearing/guide dogs for deaf-blind people.
Click here to enter the Hearing Dog of the Year Awards
Ian Ford, Chief Executive of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, added: “The Hearing Dog of the Year Awards recognise the truly life-changing difference that hearing dogs make to the lives of people with hearing loss. We are delighted to be opening up nominations for the awards to the general public and hope that they will respond by telling us about the amazing difference that hearing dogs all over the UK are making to the lives of their friends, family or perhaps work colleagues.”
Currently, there are over 750 working hearing dogs in the UK transforming lives of isolation and loneliness into lives of independence, confidence and security.
Hearing dogs are trained to alert deaf people to important household sounds and danger signals such as the alarm clock, doorbell and smoke alarm in the home, at work and in public buildings.
Since the Charity was launched in 1982, over 1,600 hearing dogs have been placed with deaf recipients right across the UK.
Nominations close on Friday 22nd July 2011. A panel of celebrity judges, including TV presenter Matt Baker, will decide upon the winners and runners-up of each category ahead of a star-studded awards presentation night in October, sponsored by Specsavers Hearing Centres and Royal Canin.
