By Montana Hodges
05/06/05
Hearing Dogs: Unleashing Friends and Helpers
It isn’t clear who was the
first person to train a “Hearing Dog.” The idea is that a dog is trained to
recognize certain sounds and alert their owner who may be deaf or hard of
hearing. Wherever and whenever the first few dogs were trained, the idea of
a “hearing” companion caught on and spread across the world quickly. Some of
the more prominent organizations such as the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the International Hearing Dog Organization (IHDI,
which was originally a kennel) began official training programs in the late
1970’s (sfspca.org/ ihdi.org). Both programs were inspired by deaf and hard
of hearing individuals who requested a trained hearing dog.
The “Hearing Dog concept” (spca.org)
is designed to create an assistance program for hearing impaired
individuals. Generally the dogs are trained to recognize and react to
certain sounds. Most commonly they are trained to respond to seven basic
noises; fire/smoke alarm, telephone, door knock, doorbell, oven timer, alarm
clock, name call, and, in select situations they can also be trained to
respond to a babies cry. Depending on where the dog is trained or if their
new owner continues their training, they can be trained to recognize up to
100 signs, so communication with their owners never seems to be a problem
(Ogden, Paul, 1992). Hearing dogs are not necessary, but often add a
convenience to a deaf household. One example is a response to smoke
detector, although detectors cane be purchased that are designed with strobe
lights, this may only apply to the room the detector is in. Jamie Berke of
about.com, also points out that “Flashing lights don’t discourage criminals
from stealing from homes either,” whereas a barking dog may deter criminals
(Berke, Jamie 2005).
Hearing dogs are also
protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). This Act
ensures that a hearing dog is allowed all the access in public places as
other service dogs. These animals must be professionally trained, approved
and registered as service animals. To qualify for a hearing dog that would
receive service dog status by the ADA a person must be at least 18 years
old, have at least a 65 decibel hearing loss (unaided) and live alone or
with other people who are deaf or hard of hearing (up to one hearing person
in the home may still be considered), the person must not have another dog
in the house, and be physically willing and capable to care for the dog
(ihdi.org).
Hearing Dogs come in many
shapes and sizes. Usually they are matched on a personal basis by trainers
and staff of each organization to meet an applicant’s specific needs. It is
unclear how many hearing dogs have been placed since the late 1970’s. Dogs
for the Deaf Incorporated has placed 2,500 rescued shelter dogs, the SPCA
estimated that they have placed over 600 dogs; IHDI has placed more than 950
dogs. All of these organizations selected unwanted animals from local
shelters, creating a unique relationship of a dog to provide a service to an
owner that provides a home for an unwanted pet.
Berke, Jamie, 2005, “Hearing Dogs for the Deaf- Can be
a deaf persons best friend,”
http://deafness.about.com/cs/hearingdogs/a/hearingdogs.htm
Ogden, Paul, 1992, Chelsea: the Story of a Signal
Dog, Brown, Little. Chicago, Illinois. 184 pp.
No specified author, 2005, International Hearing Dog,
Inc., “General Information,” http://www.ihdi.org/ihdi_index.htm
No specified author, 2005, Dogs for the Deaf, Inc.
“Rescuing Unwanted Dogs,” http://www.dogsforthedeaf.org/
No specified author, 2005. San Francisco Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “In a silent world, a Hearing Dog can
make a big difference,” http://www.sfspca.org/hearing_dogs/index.shtml
Also see: "Canine Sign
Language"