Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity urges people to sponsor a puppy this Christmas

Military forces, celebrities and sports teams have backed a charity campaign urging people to sponsor a puppy this Christmas to raise funds to train dogs for people who are deaf.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is running the campaign which has been supported by the Royal Marines, Thames Valley Police and actor John Barrowman, who all visited some of the charity’s puppies this week.

Celebrity ambassador for the charity, John Barrowman, said: “Anyone can sponsor a hearing dog puppy as a gift for a loved one and the best part of this Christmas present is that not only will you receive photos and updates from your puppy, but you will also be changing the life of a deaf person.”

Members of the public can sponsor a puppy that will then be trained by the charity to provide support and help to a person who is deaf.

The dogs are taught to alert deaf people to important sounds such as a doorbell, fire alarm or alarm clock. As well as providing practical everyday help, hearing dogs offer emotional support because their loyal companionship increases the person’s independence and confidence.

One in six people in the UK live with hearing loss of some kind, and the charity has created over 16,000 working partnerships between a person who is deaf and a hearing dog. There are currently over 850 hearing dogs supporting people who are deaf in the UK.

A series of actions are learnt and used between dog and owner to ensure the pair can communicate and understand each other. Hearing dogs are trained to alert people who are deaf about dangers in a specific way such as touching the person with their paw or nudging them with their nose. The dog will then guide the person to the source of the danger or carry out an action such as lying down to indicate danger.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People was launched at national dog show Crufts in 1982 and has been training hearing dogs to alert deaf recipients to danger and sounds around them ever since.

For more information about the charity go to www.hearingdogs.org.uk