Petplan Charitable Trust donates £10,000 Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
Howard Lake | 18 April 2009 | News
With almost nine million people in the UK experiencing some form of hearing loss, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People plays a vital role in helping adults and children who are either born deaf or have developed hearing difficulties in later life. The Charity has also recently extended its work to help deaf children. To support this invaluable work, The Petplan Charitable Trust (PPCT), is donating £10,000 to help those with hearing impairments lead a more independent and confident life. The donation will enable two dogs to be rescued, trained and supported during their working life with their deaf recipient – and matched with their chosen companion and to mark the occasion the PPCT is launching a competition to find the perfect ‘name’ for one of the newly sponsored hounds.
According to recent research the most popular pet dog names for 2008 included Max, Molly, Lucy, Daisy and Sophie to name but a few – however the most popular name for 2009 is yet to be chosen! With one hearing dog, Brandy, already having passed its training with flying colours, the second hearing dog to be sponsored is a three year old mongrel rescued from the Republic of Ireland. To help decide what to name her log on to www.petplantrust.org and cast a vote.
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People launched in 1982 and has since gone on to successfully place more than 1,500 hearing dogs throughout the country. The Petplan Charitable Trust donation will support the socialisation training of hearing dogs as puppies, as well as their advanced soundwork training where they learn to alert their deaf owner to everyday sounds such as the alarm clock, door bell, cooker timer and smoke alarm or fire bell. Instead of barking, dogs are trained to alert their companion by touch, using a paw to gain attention and then leading the individual to the source of the sound. In a case of danger, the dog will alert, and then lie down to indicate a hazardous situation such as a smoke alarm.
The Petplan Charitable Trust was established in 1994 by Petplan’s founders Patsy Bloom and David Simpson. The Trust has made grants of over £5 million since it was established, and aims to provide funding for the general welfare and wellbeing of dogs, cats, horses and rabbits.
Says Jenny Moir, Head of PR, at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People: “We are extremely grateful to the Petplan Charitable Trust for its kind donation of £10,000. The grant will not only enable us to increase the number of dogs we can train and provide indispensable support to more deaf people but also increase the awareness of our Charity”
Says David Simpson, Chair of the Trustees of the Trust: “The Petplan Charitable Trust is delighted to help Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in their work and believe that the donations raised from the Petplan policy holders can make a real difference to the lives of people with hearing loss. We highly commend the work already carried out by the Charity and hope that they can continue their honourable work well into the future.”
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For more information, please contact Sophie Lennon at The SPA Way on
020 7403 6900 or email
so***********@th*******.com
About Hearing Dogs for Deaf People:
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a registered Charity that selects and trains dogs to respond to specific sounds. Hearing dogs alert deaf people by touch, using a paw to gain attention and the lead them back to the sound source. For sounds such as the smoke alarm and fire alarm the dogs will lay down to indicate danger. Whenever possible, the dogs are selected from rescue centres, but they are also donated by breeders and members of the public, with the remainder coming from the Charity’s own breeding scheme.
Contact:
Jenny Moir
01844 348108
07769 901309
je********@he*********.uk
www.hearingdogs.org.uk
Mindy Bhachu
The SPA Way
4 Leathermarket Street
London
SE1 3HN
Tel: 020 7403 6900
Email:
mi**********@th*******.com
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.