Dogs off to supermarket

From: Bucks Free Press, UK - Oct 15, 2003

By Mike Flynn

A CHARITY recruiting dogs to be trained to help deaf people will be giving shoppers a surprise at the weekend.

Saunderton-based charity Hearing Dogs For Deaf People will be bringing puppies and older dogs to Safeway in High Wycombe on Sunday as part of a recruitment drive for volunteers.

The aim of the day, which starts at noon, is to get hearing dog puppies used to busy environments and to demonstrate to the public how hearing dogs can help the deaf.

One of the demonstration dogs, Ozzy, will be showing how hearing dogs are trained to alert their owners to household sounds such as the telephone, cooker timer, alarm clock and smoke alarm.

Shoppers will get a chance to speak to volunteers who take the young hearing dog puppies into their homes for a few months and there will be several recipients on hand to explain how hearing dogs can change a deaf person's life.

Jenny Moir, of Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, said: "We wanted the public to see a demonstration as well as meet our younger and older hearing dogs. The aim is to raise awareness of the charity's work and hopefully to encourage more people to become volunteer puppy socialisers at the same time."

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