Hearing Dogs are able to assist people with partial to full hearing loss by alerting them to sounds in their environment. They give their owners a sense of freedom and renewed self-esteem. Being deaf can be extremely frustrating and scary for anybody, we aim to help our patients (especially children) to feel safer and more secure in their environment, and ease the fear that they may experience. A hearing dog can also relieve the loneliness and isolation that many deaf people feel in a world which relies so heavily on sound. They can be a bridge whilst in the outside world by providing more opportunities to socialise.
Hearing dogs are trained to recognise specific sounds, make physical contact with their owners, and give a trained alert signal accordingly and lead their person to the source of the sound.
Our dogs can be trained to respond to a variety of sounds, including but not limited to:
Doorbells
Phone or clock alarms
Car hooters
Their owners name
Telephone/TDD/TTY
Smoke Detector
Emergency vehicle sirens
Kettle when boiling
Somebody knocking at the door
Intruders
For people with hearing loss, the absence of sound can be life-threatening. We understand the seriousness of this and endeavor to train quality reliable service dogs for our people in need.
Honeys Garden is a nonprofit, 2016/387235/08 organization whose mission is to place quality service dogs with people within South Africa who are under privileged, fighting with disabilities or diseases, and veterans who have lost use of limbs or hearing. We also help with animal rescue, and educate the public regarding use of service dogs in public places.
