Hearing and Service Dogs Liberate Deaf and Disabled
http://www.kwtx.com/iwitness/headlines/15883437.html
Reporter: Melinda Biggs
Email Address: [email protected]
Hearing and Service Dogs Liberate Deaf and Disabled Texas Hearing &
Service Dogs is celebrating its twentieth year of training dogs to
assist Texans living with deafness or mobility related disabilities
by inviting even more people to apply for the dogs.
Each dog is specially trained by THSD to help its partner live more
independently. Hearing Dogs alert their deaf partners to important
sounds such as the oven timer, knock at the door, telephone/T.D.D.,
babys cry and smoke alarm.
Trooper wakes me up in the morning when the alarm goes off, says
Carolyn Wilson about her Hearing Dog, an alert Boston Terrier mix who
was once abandoned in an animal shelter. He tells me when the water
is ready to make tea and when its time to take the cookies out of
the oven. He reminds me when I forget to buckle my seat belt or
forget to take my keys out of the ignition.
Wilson, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law never
practiced in a courtroom because at the time none of the courtrooms
were equipped with listening devices for the deaf. She now serves on
the City of Austin Community Emergency Response Teams Advisory Board.
Trooper attends every meeting at her side.
He keeps me informed about the sounds in our environment. He helps
me stay safe, she says.
Service Dogs pick up dropped objects, open and close doors, nudge
paralyzed arms and legs into position, push elevator buttons and
perform other customized tasks. Over THSDs twenty years, Service
Dogs have done everything to pick up dropped keys and books to
literally saving their partners lives. One Service Dog named Blue
searched a remote park for nearly an hour and brought back help when
his partners wheelchairs had turned over during a hike down a hill.
Another named Honor pressed a special emergency button connected to
local emergency services when her partner was knocked unconscious by a
collapsing porch swing.
THSD adopts every dog in its program from an animal shelter or rescue
organization. We are saving dogs as well as help people, says THSD
Founder Sheri Soltes. There are marvelous dogs in shelters. With our
positive training methods, we turn strays into stars.
Best of all, THSD provides the dogs and training completely free of
charge. Donations and special events, such as the annual Mighty Texas
Dog Walk, pay for the cost of training.
We carefully match recipients with a Hearing or Service Dog that
fits their needs, lifestyle and preference, explains Soltes. They
attend a five day class at our training center in Dripping Springs.
Then we move the dog into their home and conduct 13 weeks of
personalized training with them in their home and community.
Graduates are permitted by law to bring their dogs with them to
public places. Training includes lots of practice in stores and
restaurants. In twenty years, THSD has never had a complaint about a
Hearing or Service Dogs behavior in public.
It is very easy to apply to THSD for a Hearing or Service Dog.
Everything you need is on their website, http://www.servicedogs.org
. Just click on Apply for a Dog at the top of the home page. You
can even fill out the main part of the application and submit it
online. Or call (512) 891-9090 to receive a mailed application.
—
BETTER IP RELAY – EVERYWHERE! i711.com makes all your relay calls better.
Better web calls. Better wireless calls. Better AIM calls. Why settle for
ordinary IP relay? Go beyond! Try http://www.i711.com for free today!
NEW! Try out our Deaf Network of Texas Calendar! Go to
http://calendar.deafnetwork.com
NOTE: deafnetwork.com does not endorse any of the products, vendors,
consultants, or documentation referenced in this message or. Any mention of
vendors, products, or services is for informational purposes only.
Powered by http://www.CrazyWebHosting.com
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters,
http://deafnetwork.com/list/?p=unsubscribe&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit
http://deafnetwork.com/list/?p=preferences&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234
Forward a Message to Someone
http://deafnetwork.com/list/?p=forward&uid=23e6b0ac27edebd2b6f52f1354859234&mid=1241
—
Powered by PHPlist, www.phplist.com —