The Grove WI, which met on Thursday 15th May at Hallcroft Community Centre, enjoyed an interesting presentation from Angela Richards, a volunteer with the UK charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Angela, who is deaf herself, brought along her hearing dog, a beautiful black Labrador named Maggie. She explained that many breeds of dog are suitable for training, with the cockapoo being a very popular choice.
The charity’s work provides not only emotional support through companionship but also practical help by alerting deaf people to important everyday sounds such as oven timers, baby monitors, and text message alerts, as well as life-saving sounds like fire and smoke alarms. Founded in 1982, the charity has helped create around 2,500 hearing dog partnerships, with approximately 1,000 across the UK.
Hearing dogs are very distinctive as they wear burgundy coats bearing the Hearing Dogs logo, signalling to others that the person they are with is deaf.
Volunteers like Angela care for the dogs during their first year, introducing them to new experiences and providing basic training known as socialising. After this period, the dogs receive advanced training, called Soundwork, where they are taught to alert their human partner to particular sounds by nudging them with their nose. If the sound is a fire or smoke alarm, the dog is trained to lie down instead.
Princess Anne became Royal Patron of the charity in 1992.
The talk was well received by the members of Grove WI.
Future meetings are planned with a variety of activities and more guest speakers on interesting subjects.
Grove WI always welcomes visitors and new members. Meetings take place on the third Thursday afternoon of every month at Hallcroft Community Centre, commencing at 2.00pm.
For further details, please contact Barbara Henderson on 01777 248736 or email barbara107@gmail.com.