Menzies - Hero Dogs

CONTENTS

by Ben Fogle, supporter of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

by Faith Clark, Chairman of Trustees, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Dr Bruce Fogle MBE, Co-founder, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People at Work

Civilian Dogs Working in the Emergency Services

The Pet Dogs Who Have Discovered their Inner Hero

The Volunteer Search and Rescue Dogs

The Stories of Dogs Honoured for their Bravery

The Kennel Clubs Friends for Life Awards

Dogs on Service in Britains Armed Forces

Charitable Organisations and How to Donate

D OGS ARE OUR FRIENDS and companions. They work hard to please us and give us boundless, unconditional love. They are also, as you will discover in reading this book, capable of acts of quiet heroism. I hope that these stories of heroic dogs will uplift you and move you, as they have me, and that you will find their deeds inspiring.

I have been a friend and supporter of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People for many years and the dogs trained by the charity give people with profound hearing problems invaluable independence, confidence and companionship. The money raised through the sale of this book will help train more dogs to undertake this important life-changing work so I would like to thank you for joining me in supporting these heroic hearing dogs and the people who train them.

B EN F OGLE

Supporter of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

B EATRICE FREDERIKA CLOUGH (always known as Babs) was born on 17 June 1910 in Connecticut USA. Her mother had been profoundly deaf for some years before Babs was born, having lost her hearing after a severe bout of malaria for which she was given huge doses of quinine.

Babs spent her early years living and travelling in Russia, China and Japan where her father was working. These days, travelling to remote corners of the globe would present very few problems and raise no eyebrows . But this profoundly deaf woman and her child would set out on their travels on whatever transport was available, rickshaws, buses, trains and tramp steamers without much idea of where they would end up, passing through places that rarely, if ever, saw foreigners. All through her childhood, Babs was her mothers sole carer acting as go-between in all interaction with the hearing world and as her interpreter for all languages, including their own. Just as well that, by the time she was ten she could speak Russian, Japanese, Chinese and French. She never talked about the profound effect this must have had on her childhood but it is not hard to see where her determination to help deaf people found its early inspiration.

Babs came to England to study at Oxford, married John Rathbone, a young Member of Parliament and they had two children. The war came, and after John Rathbone was killed while serving as a pilot in the RAF, she served as MP in his place (becoming the second American-born woman MP). In 1942 Babs married Paul Wright and gave birth to her daughter Faith, (the present Chairman of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People). After the retirement of her diplomat husband, Beatrice Wright finally had the opportunity to combine her determination to help deaf people and her love of dogs. She was also fascinated by the role that dogs could play in the lives of people with disabilities and realised that little, if anything, was being done to train dogs to help deaf people.

Faith Clark

In 1980 Babs met Bruce Fogle, a Canadian veterinarian practising in London, at a scientific symposium (called The Human Companion Animal Bond) that Bruce had organised. Babs Miniature Rough-haired Dachshund, Julia, gave her approval of Bruce and over the next two years, the seeds of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People were sown. The Charity was launched at the world-famous Cruft s dog show in 1982. Babs and Bruce separately visited two existing training centres in the United States and recruited an American trainer to visit the UK and share her experience with Hearing Dogs first dog trainer, Tony Blunt (who went on to become the Charitys first Chief Executive). A veterinary colleague of Bruces, Trevor Turner, provided grounds near Chinnor for a Portacabin that was used for training, and vital funding was provided by Pedigree Masterfoods, sufficient to cover half of the Charitys anticipated costs for the first three years.

Dr Bruce Fogle MBE

Today, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a large national charity operating from two training centres; The Grange (the headquarters) in Buckinghamshire and the Beatrice Wright Centre in Yorkshire. Over the past thirty years, more than 1,600 life-changing partnerships between deaf people and hearing dogs have been created and there are around 750 working partnerships all over the UK being supported by the Charity. The Charity receives no government funding and is entirely dependent on public donations and legacies for income. It costs around 47,000 to train a hearing dog and support the resulting partnership for the working life of the hearing dog (approximately eight to ten years). The Charitys research has identified that the most suitable breeds to train to become successful hearing dogs are typically Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels and Miniature Poodles (and crosses thereof). Some smaller breeds such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are also trained.

The Charity has its own Kennel Club Assured breeding scheme and works closely with a network of trusted breeders across the UK who generously donate suitable puppies for training. Very occasionally, puppies are also adopted from rescue centres as and when suitable recruits are identified.

The training of a hearing dog takes around eighteen to twenty-four months, consisting of initial puppy socialisation training with volunteers (eight weeks to twelve to fourteen months) before moving onto sound work training at one of our two training centres. Each applicant is individually matched with a dog and the training reflects their specific individual needs. The deaf person and hearing dog then spend a period of time training together at home before qualifying as an official partnership . Hearing dogs are registered assistance dogs and wear a distinctive burgundy coat to identify them and permit them access when out and about.