Deaf Service Dog

Words: 837
Pages: 4

People everywhere are curious about what hearing dogs can do for the deaf or hard of hearing.Hearing dogs provide the deaf an increased awareness of their environment. They are selected and trained to alert the deaf or hard of hearing when they hear certain sounds like Doorbells, Smoke alarms, Cell phones, or Alarm clocks. Hearing dogs are usually mixed breeds and are small to medium size. Hearing dogs are identified by a leash or a bright neon vest. Hearing dog assistance was non-existent until the early 1970’s, When Mrs.Evla Janke made a simple request. The deaf womans dog died and she was curious to see if she could get another dog trained to alert her of sounds in her home like her other dog did. In 1976 Mrs. Janke’s request “ The Hearing Program” was transferred to the American Humane Association headquarters in Colorado. Then on May 7, 1979 the “Hearing Ear Program” became the Hearing Dog Inc. Thanks to Agnes McGrath, one of the first ever Hearing …show more content…
Many culturally deaf people don’t feel the need to have a service dog or any help at all. But it is important to remember there are certain degrees of hearing loss and the decision to have a Service dog is a personal one and the right of the disabled individual. A deaf person must be able to learn how to interact with their service dog and once the dog and the person build a relationship together the deaf person usually gets to embrace more opportunities. Some reviews on Adoption websites for Hearing dogs are very positive towards the deaf community. Dog owners comment about the relationship they have with their dog and how close they become with each other. They also talk about how they finally know when to change over their laundry or how they can wake up on time or how they know when to take something out of the oven. All of these things have definitely benefited how the deaf and hard of hearing live in many