We are excited to announce Millie's Paws chosen charity - Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Since starting in 1982, the charity has matched thousands of adorable dogs with deaf recipients and currently have 850 working hearing dog partnerships across the UK. They train dogs to alert deaf people to sounds they can’t hear. Sounds we take for granted like the doorbell, alarm clock and even danger signals like the fire alarm. Being aware of these important sounds – thanks to a hearing dog – makes a major difference in deaf people’s lives.
The clever pups do so much more than alert their recipient to sounds. Deafness is referred to as the ‘invisible disability’ – there’s no white stick or wheelchair. A hearing dog gives a deaf person the independence to go out without feeling alone or self-conscious. The dogs can literally transform people’s lives.
Once a recipient has been matched with a hearing dog, they will be guaranteed a hearing dog for life. So once their first hearing dog retires around the age of 11, they will be paired with a new dog and many keep their former hearing dog as a pet.
The cost of each hearing dog throughout their lifetime is about £45,000 – so the charity relies heavily on supporters to help them change deaf people’s lives. The main breeds they train are Labradors, Cocker Spaniels, Poodles, Golden Retrievers and cross breeds like Cockapoos. They’ve all got unique traits that make them amazing hearing dogs.
We are currently sponsoring Victor, the beautiful Cocker Spaniel (the obvious choice for Millie’s Paws). Below are some photos of the wee cutie and click
here for a video of him. You can help too by clicking
here. We are organising to have collection tins in our shop and for every carrier bag we sell, we will be contributing the 5p as a donation to the charity. We also hope to work closely with them on various projects in the future.
